Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM) - a review of performed application and validation studies, and future prospects

Abstract

Environmental context Trafficked streets are air pollution hot spots where people experience high exposure to hazardous pollutants. Although monitoring networks provide crucial information about measured pollutant levels, the measurements are resource demanding and thus can be performed at only few selected sites. Fast and easily applied street pollution models are therefore necessary tools to provide information about the loadings in streets without measurement activities. We evaluate the Operational Street Pollution Model, one of the most commonly applied models in air pollution management and research worldwide. Abstract Traffic emissions constitute a major source of health hazardous air pollution in urban areas. Models describing pollutant levels in urban streets are thus important tools in air pollution management as a supplement to measurements in routine monitoring programmes. A widely used model in this context is the fast and easy to apply Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM). For almost 20 years, OSPM has been routinely used in many countries for studying traffic pollution, performing analyses of field campaign measurements, studying efficiency of pollution abatement strategies, carrying out exposure assessments and as reference in comparisons to other models. OSPM is generally considered as state-of-the-art in applied street pollution modelling. This paper outlines the most important findings in OSPM validation and application studies in literature. At the end of the paper, future research needs are outlined for traffic air pollution modelling in general but with outset in the research performed with OSPM.