The majority of the fine particles weakening the air quality in the Greater Helsinki area are drifting from Central and Eastern Europe.
Particularly airborne pollutants originating from the power plants in Russia’s St. Petersburg and Estonia’s Narva are easily carried over to Finland on the wind.
These facts were indicated by new and improved air quality measurements conducted by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
A new state-of-the-art measurement station was inaugurated in Helsinki’s suburb of Kumpula in December. When the results measured at this new station are combined with the information on weather conditions, the sources of atmospheric airborne emissions can be located.
According to the FMI measurements, airborne particles have drifted to Finland especially from the Narva oil-shale energy plants.
The major local sources of fine particles in Helsinki include vehicle traffic as well as the burning of wood in fireplaces, heating boilers, and sauna stoves.
It came as a surprise to researchers that the concentration and composition of particles can vary very much even during one day.
The occasional number of airborne fine particles can be exceptionally high, even though the daily limits are not exceeded.
”The seemingly low values often monitored in Helsinki can be misleading when it comes to health hazards”, notes Research Professor Risto Hillamo from the FMI.
Respiratory and cardiac symptoms can be among the consequences of elevated particle emissions, which can also weaken heart and lung capacity.
Among those who are likely to react to elevated concentrations are especially asthma patients and those suffering from coronary disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
