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Trafikrelaterade föroreningar i urban snö : Koncentrationer, storleksfördelning och spridning vid snösmältning
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This Swedish study found that urban snowbanks accumulate traffic-related pollutants — including microplastics, metals, and organic compounds — which are released in concentrated pulses when snow melts in spring, posing risks to urban waterways.
In urban areas with seasonal snow, traffic-related pollutants such as solid particles, metals, chloride, organic pollutants, and microplastics (MPs) can be temporarily stored in snowbanks along roads and streets. When the snow melts, it releases the accumulated pollutants and the resulting snowmelt with diverse pollutants may partly infiltrate into the ground, or enter storm sewers and eventually be discharged into, and impact on, the receiving waters. To address the resulting environmental concerns, it is important to gain a more comprehensive understanding of (i) occurrence, distribution, and temporal variation of conventional (TSS, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, chloride and PAHs) as well as emerging pollutants (Tire and Road Wear Particles (T&RWPs), Platinum Group Elements (PGEs), tungsten (W) and antimony (Sb)) in urban snow, (ii) size fractionation of pollutants in snow, (iii) behaviour of pollutants during snow melting, and (iv) influence of various snow sampling strategies on estimating pollutant loads in snow. Therefore, these four points form the focus of this doctoral thesis. The work presented in the thesis includes a literature review of metal pollution in urban snow, field sampling of urban roadside snowbanks and snow storage piles, and laboratory-scale snow melting experiments. The field sampling included snow sampling surveys at three locations in Sweden – Frihamnen (one of the ports of Stockholm), and Luleå and Umeå municipalities in Northern Sweden, and served for studies of variations in snow quality in terms of solids, metals, chloride, PAHs and MPs. Some of the field samples were also used in laboratory-scale snow melting experiments to advance the understanding of the fate of pollutants during the snow melting process. A literature survey identified Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Ni as the metals most frequently studied in urban snow, while Sb, W and PGEs in urban snow were seldom studied, and consequently were designated here as ‘emerging pollutants’ in urban snow. These pollutant concentrations in the analysed snow samples differed distinctly because of differences in study area characteristics such as meteorological conditions, traffic intensity and composition, and winter road maintenance as well as snow cover age (SCA). Investigation of estimation accuracies for pollutant loads in temporary snow storage piles highlighted the significant role of the sampling design. Single-column samples were prone to underestimating or overestimating the pollutant loads in snow piles, with variations of up to 400%, observed in the samples collected at Frihamnen. This underscores the importance of collecting and analysing multiple samples for reliable pollutant load assessments. Comparison of snow quality in three winter seasons (1994-95, 2002-03, and 2020-21) showed a statistically significant decrease in Pb and Cd concentrations in snow samples from 1995 to 2021. This decline may be associated with the regulations limiting these pollutants in car manufacturing industry and the phasing out of leaded gasoline. In the laboratory snow melting experiments, only 10% of both total metals (Cu, Zn, and Cd) and PAHs, and 20% of T&RWPs, were carried away by the meltwater, while the rest stayed in the (immobilised) sediment residue. The dissolved (<0.45 µm) and truly dissolved (<3000 MWCO) metals and chloride exhibited a preferential elution during melting, whereas TSS and PAHs displayed a delayed release. In summary, the thesis contributes to developing a comprehensive understanding of urban snow pollution dynamics and underscores the significance of, and need for, effective snow management for mitigating environmental impacts of urban snow pollution.
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Quality of snow deposited in urban areas : storage, load assessment and release of selected pollutants with snowmelt
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This study analyzed pollutants stored in urban snow deposits in Norway, including conventional contaminants and emerging pollutants such as microplastics. Researchers found that snow accumulates significant loads of traffic-derived particles, metals, and microplastics that are released in a pulse during spring snowmelt. The study highlights urban snow as a temporary pollution reservoir that can deliver microplastics to waterways during melt events.
Microplastics (MPs) in urban roadside snowbanks: Quantities, size fractions and dynamics of release
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Tire wear particles and road wear particles were found to dominate microplastic contamination in urban roadside snowbanks in northern Sweden, with MPs detected across multiple size fractions. The study documented a large pulse of MP release when snowbanks melt in spring, identifying snowmelt as a seasonal point source of microplastics entering urban waterways.
Microplastics pathways in the urban environment: Urban roadside snowbanks
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Researchers sampled urban roadside snowbanks in a Canadian city and found high concentrations of microplastics, with tire wear particles and synthetic fibers most abundant. The study demonstrates that urban snowbanks accumulate microplastics throughout winter and release a pulse of contamination into waterways when they melt in spring.
Characterisation and spatial distribution of tyre wear particles in Swedish highway snow: Loads into roadside ditches and risk of emissions with snowmelt
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Researchers measured tire wear particles (TWPs) — a major but underappreciated source of microplastic pollution — in snow alongside a Swedish highway and found concentrations up to 1,300 mg/L, with particles decreasing in concentration farther from the road. Because large amounts of TWPs can be rapidly released into waterways when snow melts, the study calls for better snow management practices to prevent this pulse of microplastic contamination.
Occurrence of tire and road wear particles in urban and peri-urban snowbanks, and their potential environmental implications
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Researchers analyzed urban and peri-urban snowbanks in Norway and found significant concentrations of tire and road wear particles, confirming roads as a major source of microplastic pollution. The study is among the first to measure mass concentrations of these particles in snow, providing important data on how they accumulate and are transported in cold climates. The findings suggest that snowmelt may carry substantial loads of tire-derived microplastics into waterways each spring.
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