Air quality
The Port of Barcelona is aware that port activity generates atmospheric emissions which, together with those from other activities taking place in the metropolitan area, contribute to the deterioration of air quality in both the Port and the city. To monitor air quality within the Port, we operate a network of atmospheric pollutant monitoring equipment, which measures suspended particles and other gaseous pollutants.
The manual network: suspended particles
In 1996, the first high-volume samplers for total suspended particles (TSP) were installed at the Port, and sampling of this pollutant began. Following changes in air quality legislation in 2000, measurements of PM10 particles (with an equivalent diameter of less than 10 µm) were introduced, and later on, PM2,5 particles (less than 2.5 µm).
The current manual network consists of eight sequential high-volume samplers for suspended particles located at five stations, all equipped with PM10 samplers, three of which also include PM2,5 samplers.
In addition, we also have two high-volume samplers for total suspended particles (TSP) used exclusively to measure soybean allergen concentrations.
XVPCA Analysis Centre
In addition, the Port of Barcelona serves as an Analysis Centre for the Air Pollution Monitoring and Forecasting Network of Catalonia (XVPCA), managed by the Government of Catalonia. The PM10 sampler located at Port Vell is integrated into this network of instruments, and its data are used to officially assess air quality in Catalonia.
Current regulations set a maximum limit value of 40 µg/m³ of PM10 as an annual average. Unit of measurement: µg/m³.
The evolution of suspended particulate concentration over the last 14 years at the Port Vell, Dàrsena Sud, ZAL 2, ZAL Prat, ZAL BCN and BEST stations:
For PM2.5, the limit value for the annual average concentration is 25 µg/m³
The automatic network: gas analyzers
The automatic network consists of two stations equipped with automatic gas pollution analyzers:
- Sulphur dioxide (SO₂).
- Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Data value
Since they are located in a predominantly industrial environment, the measurements obtained from these stations are only indicative of air quality in relation to the limit values established by the regulations. However, they are very useful for assessing how the impact of port activity on the atmosphere has evolved over time.
