The impact of marine fuel regulations and COVID-19 on sulfur and trace element concentrations in atmospheric aerosols in Nagoya city in 2020.

Abstract

In January 2020, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) established a regulation (the Marine Fuel Regulation) that requires the sulphur (S) content of marine fuels used in general marine areas to be below 0.5%. V and Ni are known metallic elements generated in heavy oil combustion, and the heavy oil regulation is expected to reduce emissions of these elements into the environment. In addition, the voluntary restraint of industrial activities due to the spread of new coronavirus infections (COVID-19) since April 2020 may have been observed, reducing the emission of anthropogenic substances. In this study, S concentrations and trace metal element concentrations in TSP samples from Nagoya in 2018 before the corona were analysed, and the relationship between these concentrations in TSP and each element for the three years from 2018 to 2020 suggests that the 2020 fuel oil regulation for marine fuel and changes in industrial activities, etc. during the corona disaster may have The aim was to investigate changes in the impact of fossil fuel origin substances in the TSP. The results of the study will be presented in this presentation.