What are the effects of ultrafine dust? A particularly complex research project started at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Neubiberg. The focus once again: air traffic.
Munich/Freising – Reinhard Kendlbacher has driven around Munich Airport* countless times armed with a measuring device. Using a hand-held measuring device, the member of the “Freising citizens’ association to avoid noise and pollution” chased after the ultra-fine dust. As the name suggests, ultra-fine dust particles, UFP for short, are ultra-small particles with a maximum size of 100 nanometers – a thousand times smaller than a human hair. The citizens’ association suspects that the combustion of sulphurous kerosene in particular generates a particularly large amount of UFP – which can also end up in the lungs. “We’re also concerned with the children who breathe in something like that – in playgrounds around the airport*, for example.”
Ultrafine dust: “We have to be very careful”
When the measurements began in 2017, the research was still in its infancy, but a lot has happened in the meantime. On behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment, the University of Bayreuth operates two measuring stations on the outskirts of Freising and Hallbergmoos. “We are currently evaluating the data and checking their quality,” says Anke Nölscher, Junior Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry. “We have to be very careful,” there is a kind of mixture in the air with many potential sources of UFP. Traffic also plays a role. Results should be available in 2023. Nölscher’s studies are part of a research network coordinated at the University of Erlangen. Another project: the question of the health risks of UFP. They can get into the lungs, but how sick do they make you? The Institute for Environmental Medicine at the LMU Munich* is investigating this question. Test subjects are exposed to air pollutants and their lung functions are then checked.
Irrespective of this, the Universität der Bundeswehr München-Neubiberg, together with six other research institutions, started a research project funded by the EU in September 2021: Ultrhas stands for “Ultrafine particles from Transportation”. Ultrafine dust from diesel and petrol engines, aircraft turbines and ship engines is examined. The abrasion of railway overhead lines is also measured. At the end there should be a kind of risk assessment, explains the press office of the Bundeswehr University.
Munich Airport: The problem is still that there are no limit values
The problem is still: There are no limit values. The report by the Federal Environment Agency presented just yesterday sees progress in complying with the limit values for air quality, for example for fine dust and nitrogen dioxide, but does not even mention the UFP. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) now recognizes the need for research and regulation on UFP, as it emphasized in its “Air Quality Guidelines” of September 2021.
The Freising Citizens’ Association has meanwhile become more professional. Instead of hand-held measuring devices, there are now seven fixed measuring stations in Attaching, Wartenberg and Eitting, among others. Yesterday, members of the citizens’ association handed over a report on the measurements that was published in the specialist journal “Hazardous substances – air pollution control” by the Association of German Engineers (VDI). Result: Comparative measurements of UFP exposure before and during the lockdown have clearly shown that the concentration of harmful particles correlates with the number of flight movements. District Administrator Helmut Petz praised the commitment of the citizens’ association: “You have made the topic socially acceptable.” *Merkur.de/bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria. Sign up here.
