Analysis of PM concentrations in the urban area of Bejaia

The particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM₇, PM₄, PM_2.5 and PM₁) mass concentrations in Bejaia City, Algeria, over the course of one week, from July 8 to July 14, 2015, have been presented for the first time. The study covered eight urban sampling sites and 169 measurements have been obtained. The average city-wide PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations measured during this sampling were 87.8±33.9 and 28.7±10.6 μg/m³, respectively. These results show that the particulate matter levels are high and exceed the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines (WHO AQG) and European 24-hour average limit values (50 μg/m³for PM₁₀and 25 fig/m³for PM_2.5). The PM₁, PM_2.5, PM₄ and PM₇ fractions accounted for 0.15,0.32,0.56 and 0.78, respectively, of the PM₁₀ concentrations. The analysis revealed that variations of PM concentration in the study region were influenced primarily by traffic. Lower PM₁₀ concentrations (21.7 and 33.1 μg/m³) were recorded in residential sites, while higher values (53.1, and 45.2 μg/m³) in city centers.