657 / 1029
De Gironimo /
Qualità dell’ambiente urbano – XI Rapporto (2015)
ISPRA Stato dell’Ambiente 63/15 pagg. 566 - 577
567
Abstract
Monitoring and studying the component of biological origin of the airborne particulate
is a vital element in assessing air quality in our cities.
The origin of this particulate matter is varied and includes not only pollen but also
(referring only to the most important components) fungal spores and microalgae.
The monitoring methods currently in use, based on the morphological recognition of
each particle examined, do not allow a general survey of all particulate matter but are
limited to the dimensionally larger granules recognizable with the optical microscope
such as pollens and spores.
For the examination of smaller particles, often no less important, specific monitoring
campaigns and particular methods, procedures and instruments are necessary.
It is confirmed once again the collaboration between POLLnet and AIA (Italian
Association of Aerobiology) which allowed the further increase of the number of urban
areas monitored.
The implementation of existing legislation on the transparency of environmental data
has encouraged such collaboration, overcoming oppositions and limitations to the
availability of data.
Moreover, the report of this year is also enriched by the monitoring data of
Alternaria, a fungal spora, widespread and highly allergenic, also very common in all
of the urban areas monitored.
The absence of legal limits (or even established by studies or research) that directly
relate certain concentrations of airborne pollen or spores to human health (the
concentration levels used in weekly bulletins only refer to botanical aspects) does not
allow assessments in absolute terms on air quality. Therefore, only considerations on
trends and seasonal variations can be realized about the examined indicators. The
historical archive of these indicators, furthermore, is still too limited to be useful to
identify the trend of change and obtain additional assessments.
Keywords
Pollen, Spores, Aerobiology