Arsenic Accumulation and Speciation of PM2.5 and Relevant Health Risk Assessment in Jinan, China

Abstract

Arsenic is a ubiquitous carcinogen and mutagen that has created serious human health problems around the world. It is released into the environment from both anthropogenic and natural sources [1]. Many studies have demonstrated anthropogenic sources such as the combustion of fuels, and the use of pesticides contributes As at three times higher levels than natural ones [2]. As toxicity and migration are significantly correlated with its speciation and oxidation state in the environment. In general, inorganic As species are more toxic than organic As species, As 2 O 3 (As(III)) is more toxic than As 2 O 5 (As(V)). As exposure has been reported to be related to several types of cancer, including skin, lung, and urinary bladder [3][4]. Therefore, it has aroused a global concern and substantial investigation in various environments in past decades.Humans are exposed to As through oral ingestion, such as food and water, but inhaled exposure is thought to be another important As source in industrial areas. It was reported that As concentration in air from urban and industrial districts was significantly higher than those in rural areas [4]. Previous studies indicated that more than 90% of atmospheric As exists mainly in fine airborne Pol. J. Environ. Stud. Vol. 26, No. 2 (2017) , respectively.

China’s air quality improvement strategy may already be having a positive effect: evidence based on health risk assessment

“…Pollutant concentration is one of the important factors affecting health risk assessment results (38)(39)(40). High levels of PM 2.5 exposure will increase the risk of some health endpoints such as respiratory, cardiovascular and lung diseases (41)(42)(43).…”

Speciation of arsenic: a case study of PM1 in Zabrze

“…The correlations suggest that PM1-bound As comes from combustion emission (probably municipal emission-heating with use coal) and As compounds from combustion influence not only amounts of soluble As(V) in the ambient air but also its share in total PM1-bound As. As from combustion process is emitted mainly as arsenic trioxide, and prevailing oxidative As forms in PM are explained by oxidation of trivalent forms by oxidants such as ozone [27,28]. Seasonal changes in PM2.5-bound As(III) and As(V) had been noticed in research conducted in Jinan city situated in Shandong Province of China (area under the influence of coal combustion emissions, especially in winter).…”

“…Seasonal changes in PM2.5-bound As(III) and As(V) had been noticed in research conducted in Jinan city situated in Shandong Province of China (area under the influence of coal combustion emissions, especially in winter). Analysis of As species in PM showed that only in some winter samples of PM2.5, As(III) was determined; the rest of As was present as As(V) [27].…”

Investigating China’s Urban Air Quality Using Big Data, Information Theory, and Machine Learning

“…The final simulated output is the sum of the estimated output and the estimated output error. The structure of the PEK approximator [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] is shown in Fig. 2, where n1, n2, …, nc denote the number of candidate input variables for Class 1, 2, …, nc, respectively; weight 1, weight 2, …, weight n denote combination weights for component networks; O(s), O(e), and E(e) denote simulated output, estimated output, and estimated output error, respectively.…”