The impact of the northern Adriatic ports container throughput on air quality environmental parameters

This paper seeks to highlight the impact of increasing container throughput in north Adriatic ports on air quality. A comparative analysis of air quality consisting of selected environmental parameters at selected measuring stations near the container terminals of the northern Adriatic ports Rijeka, Trieste, Koper, and Venice was carried out. The parameters were analyzed based on a limited air quality monitoring data for port areas. As the port transport sector can increase pollutant emissions, the results of these analyses can also be used to take appropriate measures to reduce particulate matter emissions. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of increasing container throughput in the ports of the northern Adriatic Sea on air quality based on certain environmental parameters related to shipping/delivery of containers by road. The results of the research based on available data have shown that the increase in container throughput of the northern Adriatic ports has not decreased air quality of urban areas of the respective port cities. The value of air quality of the northern Adriatic ports is substantially above the limits set by the EU Air Quality Directive (2008/50), thus not affecting the health of the inhabitants of the analyzed cities.