Ambient PM2.5, Black Carbon, and Particle Size-Resolved Number Concentrations and the Ångström Exponent Value of Aerosols during the Firework Display at the Lantern Festival in Southern Taiwan

Abstract

The Yanshui Beehive Firework Festival is a traditional folk activity in Southern Taiwan held during the Lantern Festival, and it is the third largest folk celebration in the world. During this festival, more than 200 firecracker towers with hundreds of thousands of firecrackers are ignited, posing a risk to public health because of an abrupt increase in particulate matter concentrations within a short period. In this study, real-time variations of PM 2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 µm), black carbon (BC), and particle number concentrations were monitored before and during the firework display to understand the effect of the firework display on the short-term air quality. The hourly average concentrations of PM 2.5 , BC, total particle number, and ultrafine particle number during the firework display (episode period) were 146.9 µg m -3 , 2639 ng m -3 , 3.37 × 10 4 # cm -3 , and 1.18 × 10 4 # cm -3 , respectively. These values were 6.9, 2.3, 5.9, and 3.7 times greater than those during the same period on reference days (nonepisode period), respectively. The measured ultraviolet BC (UVBC) and BC concentrations indicated that aerosols were bound with ultraviolet-absorbing organic compounds, which were abundant, during the episode period. BC aerosols during the episode originated from vehicular traffic and firecracker burning, and the absorption Ångström exponent value was 1.4. The particle number size distribution during the episode period showed a major accumulation mode and a minor Aitken mode of 180 and 63 nm, respectively. This particle number size distribution pattern was considerably different from that in the nonepisode period. During the episode period, particle coagulation played a crucial role in removing particles in the nucleation and Aitken modes in the ambient air at high particle number concentrations.

The Characteristics of Air Pollutants during Two Distinct Episodes of Fireworks Burning in a Valley City of North China

“…In Italy, with a 4 h time resolution, PM 10 increased to 33.6 μg/m 3 during firework displays [19]. In China, some researchers have found that firework displays can cause serious air pollution problems in Beijing [20], Taiwan [21], and Jinan [17]. These studies focused mainly on the chemical components of the pollutants and the temporal changes in their levels, while few have investigated the ambient air quality in different functional areas of a valley city with different amounts of firework burning.…”

Characteristics of Ambient Black Carbon Mass and Size-Resolved Particle Number Concentrations during Corn Straw Open-Field Burning Episode Observations at a Rural Site in Southern Taiwan

“…During the whole monitoring period, a firework display was performed near this monitoring site on 14 February 2014. The effect of the firework display on ambient BC mass and particle number concentrations had been reported by Lin et al [ 41 ] and it would not be addressed as an issue in this study. Despite the firework display on 14 February 2014, a few events of agricultural residue burnings were clearly observed from 15 to 17 February 2014.…”

Impact of Diwali Festival on Aerosol Optical Properties over an Urban City, Ahmedabad (India)

“…Do et al (2012) observed that the particles generated by the fireworks during annual Lantern Festival in Yanshui (Taiwan) possessed higher PM 2.5 -to-PM 10 ratios than those present in the pre-fireworks display period. Investigation by Lin et al (2016a) showed that Beehive firework display in YanShuei area of southern Taiwan during the Lantern Festival emits significant amounts of PM 1 and PM 2.5 and degrades short-term air quality and Lin et al (2016b) found that hourly average concentrations of PM 2.5 , BC, total particle number, and ultrafine particle number during YanShui Beehive Firework Festival were 6.9, 2.3, 5.9, and 3.7 times greater than those during the same period on reference days.…”