AIR POLLUTION WITH SO2 IN BUCHAREST AREA

The main anthropogenic source of SO2 is the burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels for domestic heating, power generation and motor vehicles. The use of tall chimneys at power stations has caused widespread dispersion of SO2 affecting populations located far away from the sources. SO2 can affect the respiratory system and the functions of the lungs, and causes irritation of the eyes. Air quality monitoring network in Bucharest, operational since January 2004 consists of 8 automatic measuring stations distributed in the central and suburban zones, measure SO2 concentration in continuous in ambient air. Mean hourly SO2 concentrations measured by automatic analyzers are transmitted in real time at a server located at Environmental Monitoring Agency headquarters in Bucharest and published on its website. In order to evaluate the levels pollution of SO2 in air in the city of Bucharest, strings of values measured at each station were considered as time series and their properties were determined. They reveal the periodicity of SO2 concentration variation in the circadian, weekly and seasonal cycles. To highlight the trend of time series, the measured data were correlated with weather conditions: wind speed and direction and amount of precipitation. Data were processed with the ARIMA model to estimate the evolution of SO2 concentration in monitored areas in Bucharest.