Aims: Air quality changes with human health risk assessment were investigated.
Methods: The measurement results obtained by the Regional Environmental Protection Inspectorate (REPI) in Kraków and our deposited particulate-matter (PM) analysis, as well as United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) methodology of risk assessment were used in the study.
Results: Annual pollutant contents kept decreasing, with the exception of O3. However, the permissible annual levels were exceeded in the cases of PM10, PM2.5, and NO2. Increased contents of SO2, CO, C6H6, PM10, and PM2.5, as well as of As, Pb, Cd, Ni, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM particles during winter months indicated that house heating was the source of pollution. Due to no significant change in the monthly NO2 contents, this measurement was used as an indicator of traffic sources of pollution. In winter months, the allowable 24 h PM2.5 and PM10 contents were constantly exceeded. PM was identified as the most significant air pollutant. Enrichment factors revealed that deposited PM was enriched with heavy metals. The potential ecological risk (ERI) was determined to be very high for Cd, considerable for Zn, and low for As, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Tl. The total non-carcinogenic risk indices (HQ) for both adults (HQ = 15.0) and children (HQ = 26.4) exceeded the acceptable value of 1. The total carcinogenic risk indices (CR) for both adults (CR = 1.51 × 10-4) and children (CR = 1.77 × 10-4) exceeded the acceptable level of 1 × 10-4.
Conclusions: In the years 2005-2020, a general decreasing tendency of annual pollutant contents was observed. However, the permissible contaminant contents were still exceeded. PM2.5, BaP, PM10, and NO2 were determined as the most dangerous pollutants in inhalational pathway.
Keywords: COVID-19; air pollution; air quality index; enrichment factors; health risk assessment; particulate matter.