Emissions of organic pollutants from traffic and roads: Priority pollutants selection and substance flow analysis
Journal article, 2017

A large number of organic pollutants (OPs) emitted from vehicles and traffic-related activities exhibit environmental persistence and a tendency to bioaccumulate, and may have detrimental long-term effects on aquatic life. The aim of the study was to establish a list of significant sources of OPs occurring in road runoff, identify the OPs emitted from these sources, select a number of priority pollutants (PP), and estimate the quantity of PPs emitted in a road environment case study using substance flow analysis (SFA). The priority pollutants included in the SFA were selected from a list of approximately 1100 compounds found after comprehensive screening, including literature and database searches, expert judgments, the Ranking and Identification of Chemical Hazards method, and chemical analysis of sediments. The results showed the following priority order: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)> alkanes C20-C40 > alkylphenols > phthalates > aldehydes > phenolic antioxidants > bisphenol A > oxygenated-PAHs > naphtha C5-C12 > amides > amines. Among these, PAHs were chosen for a SFA, which was performed for a highway case study area in Gothenburg (Sweden). The SFA showed that the main sources of PAHs emitted in the area were vehicle exhaust gases, followed by tyre wear, motor lubricant oils, road surface wear, and brake linings. Only 2-6% of the total 5.8-29kg annually emitted PAHs/ha ended up in the stormwater sewer system. The measured PAH loads were found in much smaller amounts than the calculated loads and the outflow to stormwater contained much more of the hazardous PAHs than the total loads emitted in the catchment area.

Road wear

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Tyres

Road runoff

Exhausts

Vehicle emissions

Author

Anna Markiewicz

Architecture and Civil Engineering

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

FRIST competence centre

Karin Björklund

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Architecture and Civil Engineering

E. Eriksson

Linnaeus University, Växjö

Yuliya Kalmykova

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Architecture and Civil Engineering

Ann-Margret Hvitt Strömvall

FRIST competence centre

Architecture and Civil Engineering

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

A. Siopi

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Science of the Total Environment

0048-9697 (ISSN) 1879-1026 (eISSN)

Vol. 580 1162-1174

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Transport

Building Futures (2010-2018)

Materials Science

Subject Categories

Civil Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.074

More information

Latest update

4/17/2018