Clean streets and intact road surfaces help to keep the air clean
Dübendorf, St. Gallen und Thun, 1.2.2011 - Road traffic is one of the main sources of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, above all when the weather situation favors the creation of winter smog, as has been the case over the past few day in the Swiss “Mittelland”. Vehicle tailpipe emissions are responsible for just less than half of the fine particles, however. The majority of this pollutant is produced by mechanical wear and resuspension of dust due to air turbulence from passing vehicles, as a study by atmospheric specialists from Empa and PSI has shown.