Micro pollution along motorways : an evaluation

Summarizes a number of research reports on the micro pollution, mainly caused by road traffic, along motorways in the Netherlands. Micro pollution implies pollution of the soil, surface water, and groundwater by micro contaminants such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). By using a summary of the relevant environmental legislation and of the possible measures to be taken, a proposal is made to how to approach this problem. The size of the mass fluxes as a result of wind dispersion or runoff turns out to depend particularly on the type of asphalt. There is also a clear shift to be seen from dispersion by wind to dispersion by runoff. By using emission data a mass balance on a national scale was conceived. From this it is concluded that a major part of the emitted substances is scattered diffusely.