Airborne contaminants and their impact on the city of Reykjavi´k, Iceland

Reykjavi´k, the capital of Iceland, today has more than 100000 inhabitants and, together with its neighboring communities, makes up the largest conglomeration of people, traffic, and industry in Iceland. High levels of motor vehicle traffic, in particular, causes considerable emissions of air pollutants. Due to the strong prevailing winds, however, levels of ambient air pollutants such as CO, NOx, SO2, and total suspended particles are generally rather low in Reykjavi´k compared to the threshold values for these substances. Thus air pollution does not seem to pose a danger to the health of the majority of people most of the time. However, certain types of plants (mosses, lichens, etc.) are apparently inhibited in their distribution and growth, through processes in which air pollutants are deposited in the soil and water and then taken up and accumulated by organisms. The sensitive subarctic environment within and close to Reykjavi´k may therefore be endangered by levels of air pollutants lower than those found in natural ecosystems close to towns in central Europe.