Assessment of Major Air Pollution Sources in Efforts of Long Term Air Quality Improvement in İstanbul

Abstract

Air pollution affected quality of life and public health due to high concentration levels of air pollutants in Istanbul, especially in 1990s. Major air pollution sources in Istanbul caused elevation of the air pollutants in ambient air of the megacity. To protect human health, the levels of PM10 and SO2 were reduced by taking effective actions such as the reduction of utilization of coal, fuel oil, wood combustion for residential heating, expending natural gas network and improving the quality of diesel and gasoline. Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) were applied to reduce the air pollutant emission from transportation by reducing travelling time. Overall, this study evaluates air pollution sources in Istanbul based on previous source apportionment studies that guide the emission reduction strategies. The improvement on PM10 and SO2 demonstrated as 50% and 98% reduction respectively since 1990s to 2014.