Oxidative potential of atmospheric particles in Europe and exposure scenarios

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM), a public health concern worldwide, is at present regulated according to its mass concentration<sup>1</sup>. However, it is increasingly thought that mass concentration may not fully capture the physicochemical properties of PM linked to its health impact<sup>2</sup>. Consequently, it has been suggested to further investigate the adequacy of this metric as an unequivocal indicator of PM health effects<sup>3-5</sup>. The new European regulation on air quality introduced oxidative potential (OP) as a recommended parameter to be monitored at supersites<sup>1</sup>, to explore further deciphering information about PM reactivity and health impacts<sup>6,7</sup>. Here we use a database of almost 11,500 OP measurements from 43 locations across parts of Europe that were analysed with the two most commonly used OP assays<sup>8</sup>, OP<sup>AA</sup> and OP<sup>DTT</sup>, with a standardized protocol<sup>9,10</sup>. We find high spatial variability of OP across Europe, strongly influenced by site type, such as urban or rural. Accounting for OP alongside PM mass suggests that further improvements in urban air quality may require consideration, particularly near roads, where volumetric OP of PM<sub>10</sub> exceeds background levels by a factor of 2.4 to 3.1, depending on the assay used. Analysis of mitigation strategies shows that traffic is a key source to target for effectively reducing OP in cities, whereas comprehensive reductions in PM from both traffic and biomass burning are required to also meet World Health Organization mass guidelines. Although the epidemiological evidence for OP health impacts is still evolving<sup>2,8</sup>, our findings may help inform the interpretation of future work.

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Journal
Nature
Published
2025-10-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09666-9
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Air Quality and Health Impacts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.40

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article

Oxidative potential of atmospheric particles in Europe and exposure scenarios

J. Cozic, Rhabira Elazzouzi, Valérie Gros, Andrê S. H. Prévôt et al.
7 citations
Nature
Air Quality and Health Impacts
8.40
article

Oxidative potential of atmospheric particles in Europe and exposure scenarios

J. Cozic, Rhabira Elazzouzi, Valérie Gros, Andrê S. H. Prévôt, Olivier Favez, Véronique Ghersi, Takoua Mhadhbi, Sébastien Conil, Henri Diémoz, Griša Močnik, Christoph Hueglin, Mélodie Chatain, N. Mihalopoulos, K. Džepina, Andrés Alástuey, Evdokia Stratigou, Katarzyna Styszko, Marc Durif, Céline Voiron, Manuela Zublena, Sophie Darfeuil, Grégory Gille, Gaëlle Uzu, Xavier Querol, Imre Salma, Jean‐Luc Jaffrezo, Barbara D’Anna, Kaspar Rudolf Dällenbach, Nicolas Marchand, Paolo Laj, Boualem Mesbah, Anouk Marsal, Vy Dinh Ngoc Thuy, Valérie Siroux, Stéphan Houdier, Pamela Dominutti, Guillaume Salque Moreton, Florie Francony, Marloes F. van Os, Cécile Tassel, Meryll Le Quilleuc
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM), a public health concern worldwide, is at present regulated according to its mass concentration<sup>1</sup>. However, it is increasingly thought that mass concentration may not fully capture the physicochemical properties of PM linked to its health impact<sup>2</sup>. Consequently, it has been suggested to further investigate the adequacy of this metric as an unequivocal indicator of PM health effects<sup>3-5</sup>. The new European regulation on air quality introduced oxidative potential (OP) as a recommended parameter to be monitored at supersites<sup>1</sup>, to explore further deciphering information about PM reactivity and health impacts<sup>6,7</sup>. Here we use a database of almost 11,500 OP measurements from 43 locations across parts of Europe that were analysed with the two most commonly used OP assays<sup>8</sup>, OP<sup>AA</sup> and OP<sup>DTT</sup>, with a standardized protocol<sup>9,10</sup>. We find high spatial variability of OP across Europe, strongly influenced by site type, such as urban or rural. Accounting for OP alongside PM mass suggests that further improvements in urban air quality may require consideration, particularly near roads, where volumetric OP of PM<sub>10</sub> exceeds background levels by a factor of 2.4 to 3.1, depending on the assay used. Analysis of mitigation strategies shows that traffic is a key source to target for effectively reducing OP in cities, whereas comprehensive reductions in PM from both traffic and biomass burning are required to also meet World Health Organization mass guidelines. Although the epidemiological evidence for OP health impacts is still evolving<sup>2,8</sup>, our findings may help inform the interpretation of future work.

NatureVol. 647(8088)
Eötvös Loránd University (HU), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (FR), Airbus (France) (FR), Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale del Piemonte (IT), École de l'air et de l'espace (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), World Meteorological Organization (CH), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Crete (GR), Inserm (FR), University of Nova Gorica (SI), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Helsinki Institute of Physics (FI), Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (FI), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire de Grenoble (FR), Laboratoire Excell (FR), Energy Transitions (United Kingdom) (GB), National Centre for Atmospheric Science (GB), École des Métiers de l’Environnement (FR), National Observatory of Athens (GR), Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement (FR), Air Navigation Services (Czechia) (CZ), Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (FR), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR), Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques (FR), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Environnement Atmosphérique (FR), Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'ambiente ligure (IT), Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs (FR), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (ES), Atmel (France) (FR), Institut de Biosciences et Biotechnologies (FR), Environmental Energy & Engineering (US), Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne (FR), Institut pour l'avancée des biosciences (FR), Airparif (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), AGH University of Krakow (PL), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (CH), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
National Science Foundation, Fondation Air Liquide, Fondation Université Grenoble Alpes, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Bundesamt für Umwelt
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Air Quality and Health Impacts
8.40
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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