Niveles de material particulado en la zona urbana de Cuenca-Ecuador y su relación con el tráfico vehicular

Abstract

The urban area of Cuenca has a high vehicular traffic: a problem that has grown over time. Levels of air emissions have also increased, especially particulate matter that affects human health. The objective of this work was to quantify sedimentable particulate matter (SPM), breathable particulate matter, and determine if there is a relationship between these emission and vehicular traffic. The results of this work show remarkable differences between the different points of traffic count. These points establish specific zones of conflicting vehicular transit. SPM and MP2.5 distribution maps are not mandatorily coincident, which shows that there is not direct relationship between the number of mobile sources, and the concentrations of both types of particulate matter. Evidently, pollutants dispersion is a complex phenomenon; thus, it must be analysed from the perspective of multiple variables