Monitoring Air Quality in Cyprus (2016-2022)

Air pollution is a significant environmental threat to public health worldwide. In Cyprus, the laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Control of Effluents of the State General Laboratory in collaboration with the competent Authorities, the Department of Inspection of the Ministry of labour, develops and implements programs for monitoring every year the efficiency of the quality of air, using special filters. Heavy metals (As, Cd, Ni, Hg, Pb), other metals (Al, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, V), ions (Cl-, SO4 2-, NO3 -, Na+, K+, NH4 + ) as well as 8 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s) including benzo(a)pyrene, were monitored and controlled systematically and effectively for more than a decade. Instrumental techniques like ion chromatography, ICP, ICP-MS and HPLC-fluorescence are used to determine ions, metals, and PAH,'s respectively. In this study, the results of these parameters are presented for the years 2016–2022. Heavy metals, ions, and PAHs are found in low concentrations ranging from low nanograms to micrograms per m3.