Statistical Distributions of Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations in the Surface Atmosphere of St. Petersburg

This article presents the results of an assessment of the risks of exceeding maximum permissible concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the atmospheric air of St. Petersburg based on measurement data from 16 automatic monitoring stations in 2019–2021 and their dependence on time of day and season. Nitrogen dioxide is a highly toxic substance and belongs to hazard class II. This necessitates taking into account the distribution of nitrogen dioxide concentrations in urban spatial planning. The study revealed that variations in NO₂ concentrations are determined by the interaction of several quasi-periodic processes: seasonal and diurnal variations in traffic density, changes in solar radiation intensity and associated photochemical reactions involving nitrogen dioxide, and the intensity of meteorological phenomena. The statistical distributions of NO₂ concentrations are asymmetric, and the lognormal model is the preferred approximation. The risks of exceeding the average daily threshold limit value (TLV) of nitrogen dioxide (according to Sanitary Regulations and Standards 1.2.3685-21) are in the range of 0.0–1.1%, and when using the TLV recommended by the WHO, in the range of 3–20%. The approach to assessing the risks of exceeding the TLV for nitrogen dioxide concentrations presented in this article can also be applied to analyzing the concentrations of other ecotoxicants that negatively impact public health or disrupt the urban environment.

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