Tendências e excedências da poluição atmosférica: perspectivas do ozônio e do material particulado em zonas brasileiras altamente urbanizadas

Abstract

Living with air pollution is routine in large urban centers, especially in areas with large industrial parks and/or heavy traffic. Monitoring pollutant concentrations is a crucial factor in developing public policies that aim to protect the health of exposed populations and the environment. This study evaluated series of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and ozone (O3) from 40 automa- tic stations located in the four state capitals of the Southeast region of Brazil: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Vitória. The evaluation, ranging from 1998 to 2019, consisted of applying two statistical tests, the Mann-Kendall test, used in conjunction with Sen’s Slope estimator, to verify trends in the complete series and quarterly series, and the Cox-Stuart test to verify trends in the series of exceedances of WHO AQG 2021 guideline values. In addi- tion, the classification of land use and occupation around the stations was evaluated to verify relationships with pollutant trends. To better understand the results obtained in this study, they were discussed in two articles. The first article, "Air Pollution Trends and Exceedances: Ozone and Particulate matter outlook in Brazilian highly urbanized zones", indicated the gap between national legislation and international values, and how this fact can compromise existing public policies. The Mann-Kendall test, together with Sen’s Slope estimator, indicated general trends of PM2.5 reduction for São Paulo and Vitória, registering values of -1.4 μg/m 3 .year and -0.2 μg/m 3 .year, respectively. General reductions were also observed for PM10, highlighting -14.6 μg/m 3 .year and -4.8 μg/m 3 .year for Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, respectively. O3 showed an increasing trend for São Paulo (6.5 μg/m 3 .year) and Vitória (0.6 μg/m 3 .year) and a de- creasing trend for Rio de Janeiro (-15.6 μg/m 3 .year). The stations in Belo Horizonte showed mixed trends for each pollutant. The series were divided into quarterly series (DJF - summer, MAM - autumn, JJA - winter, and SON - spring) for seasonal trend evaluation. In particular, the results for Rio de Janeiro showed a clear seasonal contrast, with emphasis on O3, reaching a value of -96.1 μg/m 3 .year for winter and 125.8 μg/m 3 .year for summer. The Cox-Stuart test showed a positive trend in exceedance series, indicating that air pollution control is a challenge to be addressed by competent public authorities. In the second article, "Trends in atmospheric pollutant concentrations from 2015-2019: characterization based on MAPBIOMAS in urban centers in Southeast Brazil", O3 trends tend to be positive in forested and agricultural areas due to the biogenic emission of volatile organic compounds and NOX emissions from vehicular fleets. PM10 reductions are related to the presence of water bodies, which may be related to dispersive phenomena such as sea breeze. In summary, the results suggest a review of national legislation, expansion of the monitoring network, and development of effective public policies to reduce health impacts on exposed populations.