Ambient PM pollution is a major mortality risk factor in Taiwan. Aggressive and multisectorial intervention strategies are urgently needed to bring down the impact of air pollution on environment and health.

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This study aimed to determine the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and investigate the impacts of traffic and industrial activities on the concentration of VOCs near the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) in Taiwan during 2005. Twelve-hour canister sampling was performed at 10 sites near CTSP every season. Samples were analyzed by gas chromatography with a mass-selective detector. The traffic flow rate, industrial production rates, and meteorological information were also collected to assess their impacts on VOC concentrations using multiple linear regression models. The major components determined in the atmosphere were toluene (29.4 -218.8 g m Ϫ3 ), acetone (30 -71.3 g m Ϫ3 ), m/p-xylene (7.8 -51.7 g m Ϫ3 ), and ethanol (16.4 -47.8 g m Ϫ3 ); only ethanol revealed a pattern of increasing concentration from spring to winter. The log-transformed mean concentrations of toluene, acetone, and ethanol were significantly associated with the production rates of the optoelectronic companies after adjustment for traffic flow and meteorological factors (P Ͻ 0.05). There was no significant association between the total traffic flow rate and any logtransformed mean concentrations of VOCs. Each $1 million (U.S.) increase in optoelectronic sales was significantly associated with increasing mean concentrations of

This study characterized the effects of smoldering incenses and combustion conditions on gaseous pollutant yields. Incense comes in three types: non-smoke (A), reduced-smoke (B) and traditional-smoke incense (C and D). Each incense type was burned in a test chamber with various combustion conditions (airflow rate and relative humidity). An extractive Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to measure gas pollutants from smoldering incense in real time. Concentrations of methane, ethylene, methanol, formaldehyde and ammonia were measured using the IR spectra of smoldering incense samples. The resulting order of total emission factors of the identified gas pollutants (sum of methane, ethylene, methanol, formaldehyde and ammonia) were non-smoke < reduced-smoke < traditional smoke incenses. Total gas-pollutant emission rates and factors increased logarithmically as the airflow rate increased (2-28 L/min). Finally, the emission rates and factors of ethylene and methane decreased linearly as relative humidity increased (18-97%), while those for ammonia, methanol and formaldehyde increased. Results can be utilized to solve indoor air pollution problems caused by burning incense. Assuming that incense will continue to be burned when paying respect to ancestors, using incense made of lowvolatility materials, with high carbon levels, low airflow rates and high environmental relative humidity can minimize gas-pollutant production.