Cyprus Mail 24 January - article by Lizzy Ioannidou
An increased level of particle pollution in the form of suspended particulate matter with a mean aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometres (PM10) was recorded in the atmosphere on Thursday, the department of labour inspection said.
The phenomenon will persist until Sunday, the met office said.
PM10 particles are small enough to enter lungs, potentially causing serious health problems.
At 10am on Thursday, the department of labour inspection said, the average hourly concentrations of PM10 in the atmosphere had grown and ranged between 42μg/m3 and 103 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre).
The 24-hour average is set by relevant legislation to a value limit of 50μg/m3.
At noon on Thursday, PM10 recordings at each of the air quality measurement areas showed that at a Nicosia traffic station, a station representative of an area with increased traffic, PM10 levels were at 75.7 μg/m3.
A Limassol traffic station recorded 86.9 50 μg/m3 of PM10, while at a traffic station in Larnaca levels were at 85μg/m3, both of which were higher than the 67.7 50 μg/m3 of PM10 that were recorded at an industrial station in Zygi.
Some areas also saw heightened levels of PM10 on Wednesday, as levels ranged between 22 and 72 μg/m3.
“When levels exceed the daily average value limit of 50μg/m3 set by legislation due to anthropogenic causes, measures must be taken to decrease levels,” a labour inspection officer, Adamos Adamides, told the Cyprus Mail.
“However, the current phenomenon was not anthropogenically caused, but is rather the outcome of environmental conditions, such as incoming dust from other continents.”
The department of labour inspection called on employers and employees, children and other vulnerable groups to take appropriate protective measures and to refrain from travelling unnecessarily in open spaces.
