Anthropogenic sources of aerosol particles in a football stadium: Real-time characterization of emissions from cigarette smoking, cooking, hand flares, and color smoke bombs by high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry

Aerosol particles from several anthropogenic sources associated with football stadia including cooking, cigarette smoking, burning of color smoke bombs and hand flares were analyzed by high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry. The physical and chemical characteristics of these different aerosols, in particular the organic fraction, were explored in laboratory studies to obtain robust references. These data were compared with field campaign results from a Bundesliga (German football league) match in the Coface Arena (Mainz, Germany) on 20th April 2012. The field measurement revealed a strongly elevated mass concentration of organic aerosols (OA) compared to background levels showing a temporal structure clearly related to the match. PMF analysis established that during the football match event cigarette smoke was the predominant component of submicron organic aerosol (67% of total OA). Cooking emissions from food outlets within the stadium correlated well with the sales figures of the catering stations and were also found to be of relevance (24% of total OA) especially in the period before kickoff. Pyrotechnics were not observed during this football match and no signatures of these sources were found in the mass spectra from the stadium measurements. All species that were elevated during the football match returned to their initial background levels within one hour after the match had finished. This demonstrates a good ventilation capacity of the open-topped Coface Arena.