Lagrangian particle model simulation to assess air quality along the Brenner transit corridor through the Alps.

The motorways A13 and A22 are the most important corridors for transit traffic through the eastern Alps. In order to reduce noise and pollutant concentrations along this corridor, a new 56 km long railway tunnel is planned connecting Austria and Italy. In the frame of a comprehensive environmental assessment study the dispersion of NOx (NO2) and PM10 emitted by road traffic is investigated for the Austrian and Italian areas by two different approaches. The results of the computed concentration fields were compared with observed NO2 and PM10 levels recorded by four air quality monitoring stations (NO2, PM10) and 15 passive samplers (NO2). Based on these results, an epidemiologic study on the doses to the population living in those alpine valleys is currently being performed, which serves subsequently to assess the health benefits once the railway tunnel is under operation.