DEPOSITION OF MOTOR-VEHICLE EMISSIONS AND WINTER MAINTENANCE ALONG ROADSIDE ASSESSED BY SNOW ANALYSES

A vertical snow-sampling method, where a sample was taken throughout the snowpack, was used to estimate the pollutant load on a roadside where average daily traffic density was about 9100 motor vehicles. The snow samples were collected at two sites, forest and open field, at two distances of 10 and 30 m from the road. The concentrations of inorganic anions (Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-), total N, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated phenols (PCPhs) were analysed. The results suggest that on roadsides there is a deposition caused by road traffic emissions and winter maintenance which exceeds normal background deposition. Inorganic anions mainly in particle form, originating from winter maintenance, are deposited near the road. PAHs with low molecular weight (less-than-or-equal-to 252) are mainly in gaseous form and are deposited further away from the road. Also, some PCPhs show similar behaviour. The dispersion is different at the forest site than at the open-field site. Our results also indicate that the vertical snow-sampling method can be used in studying pollutant load from traffic near the roads. However, studies should focus on individual PAH or PCPh compounds as markers of highway pollution. The deposition of mixtures of compounds does not bring sufficient information in the light of present knowledge.