Welcome to the Transport and Air Quality Unit!
The Transport and Air Quality Unit is now part of the Institute for Energy.
Its Radioactivity Environmental Action has moved to the Institute for Transuranium Elements.
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The mission of the Transport and Air Quality Unit is to provide sound scientific and technical grounds for the definition and implementation of the EU strategy to protect the health of the European citizen against the effects of air pollution and radioactivity. The Unit directly supports European policies in the fields of Environment and Sustainability, Public Health, Transport and Nuclear Safety.
The Unit leads the efforts to develop comprehensive, integrated and coherent scientific support for European legislation in these fields. Activities range from investigating the origins of air pollution (transport, industry), to the study of the levels of pollutants in the air. Their ultimate goal is the reduction of negative effects on human health.
To fulfil its tasks, the Transport and Air Quality Unit manages the European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) which is equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories for advanced inorganic and organic chemical analysis of particulate matter and other components of air pollution. The largest laboratory of the Unit is the Vehicle Emissions Laboratory (VELA) which is equipped with full-scale passenger car and motorcycle facilities for the characterisation of regulated and non-regulated pollutants according to the latest standards for gasoline and diesel vehicles. VELA also includes two specialised facilities for the characterisation of emissions from four-wheel-drive cars, and medium and heavy-duty vehicles (on-road and off-road machinery).
The work of the Unit is carried out in four Research Actions:
Action 13202 - TransTech (Transport Technologies and Emissions) covers all environmental aspects of advanced technologies, new engines and after-treatment systems, on-board diagnostic systems, new or reformulated fuels, biofuels and gaseous fuels by physical/chemical and toxicological characterisation of the emissions from all types of transport means. The Action provides scientific and technical support to the European Commission's strategies for the definition and implementation of future policies for a sustainable transport system in Europe.
Action 13203 - APA (Air Pollution Assessment) supports the European Commission’s air quality policy by carrying out in-depth studies of air pollution and the chemical-physical processes which determine the impact of pollutants on humans and vegetation.
Action 13206 - AIRMODE (Air Quality and Transport Modelling) helps Member States to assess and increase the quality of atmospheric modelling as a tool for supplementary assessment in order to reduce the number of measurements.
Action 51601 - REM (Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring) supports the European Commission by providing qualified information on the levels of radioactive contamination of the various levels of the environment (air, water, soil).
Contact Info:
Acting Unit Head:
Alois Krasenbrink - Tel.: +39-0332-785474 E-mail: alois.krasenbrink(at)jrc.ec.europa.eu
Secretary:
Ewelina Sujka - Tel. +39-0332-786625 E-mail: ewelina.sujka(at)ec.europa.eu
