Elemental characterization and source apportionment of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in the western coastal area of central Taiwan

The sites of Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and Pingdingshan in Henan, China were selected to investigate the chemical compositions of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ). A total of 165 PM 2.5 samples from the three sites were collected from October 2014 to July 2015. Water-soluble inorganic ions, elemental carbon and organic carbon, and other elements in PM 2.5 were analyzed by ion chromatography, carbon analyzer, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. Results showed that the annual average concentrations of PM 2.5 in the three sites were significantly higher than the Chinese national ambient air quality standard. The seasonal average of PM 2.5 concentration varied with the lowest concentrations of PM 2.5 in summer. Among these sites, the highest concentrations of SO 4 2-and NH 4 + ions were observed in Luoyang with the highest concentration of NO 3 -detected in Zhengzhou. SO 4 2-, NO 3 -and NH 4 + ions occurred as (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 and NH 4 NO 3 . For seasonal variation, the highest concentrations for Al, Fe and Ca were observed during spring in Pingdingshan and autumn in Zhengzhou and Luoyang, respectively. Enrichment factor (EF), as an indicator, is commonly used to evaluate the contribution of anthropogenic sources, and high EFs of Zn, Cu, and Cd in PM 2.5 indicate the extent of air pollution, which is generally caused by emissions of vehicles and industries. Risks posed by heavy metals on human health were assessed. The hazard index, which was used to assess the overall potential for noncarcinogenic effects, was higher than 1 in the three sites, indicating that V, Cr, As, Mn, Cd, Co, and Ni may cause accumulative noncarcinogenic health effects on humans, without the noncancer effect of each heavy metal significant. Cr in PM 2.5 is a potential carcinogenic risk when inhaled by adults. Overall, the results indicate that PM 2.5 pollution must be considered seriously in three cities.

“…The average crustal abundances were adopted from a Chinese soil background study (Wei, 1990). Al was selected as the reference element (Hsu et al, 2016). The EF was calculated as follows:…”

Section: Elements and Crustal Enrichment Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Composition Characteristics of PM2.5 in Three Cities in Henan, Central China

Jiang

Guo

Wang

et al. 2017

“…The sources profile referred to our previous studies (Hsu et al, 2016;Tseng et al, 2016). There were five major sources, including mobiles (MO), petrochemical industry (PI), secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, and soil re-suspension induced in current study.…”

Section: Pm 25 Source Apportionmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction of Atmospheric PM2.5 Level by Restricting the Idling Operation of Buses in a Busy Station

Lee

Lin

Aniza

et al. 2017

Self Cite

Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) has been found to be harmful when inhaled by people, which has caused enormous health problems. It is found at high levels at public bus stations, where many passengers and workers may be exposed to PM 2.5 emissions from idling diesel engines. This study evaluated the restriction on idling vehicles as a strategy to control PM 2.5 levels at bus stations by measuring the PM 2.5 and the chemical properties at both upwind and exposure sites for comparable data. The sampling took place on weekends and weekdays and before and after the idling restriction was applied. Originally, the exposure site showed a PM 2.5 level that was 7% higher, non-neutralized nitrate content, anthropogenic metal elements, and higher mobile source contributions, as evaluated by a chemical mass balance model (CMB8.2). After the prohibition on idling heavy-duty diesel vehicles, the PM 2.5 mass concentrations at the exposure site were reduced to levels comparable to those at the upwind site. Additionally, the nitrate content was reduced in the background. Moreover, the contributions of several anthropogenic metals (Zn, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cr, V, Ni, and Ti) in PM 2.5 were reduced while those of crustal elements (Na, Mg, Al, K, and Ca) significantly increased after the restriction. Finally, the mobile contribution decreased to only 33.7-34.5%. Consequently, these findings verify that the prohibition policy on idling vehicles works well as a control strategy to manage the PM 2.5 emissions at local hotspots such as bus stations.

“…Taiwan, our study location, is located off the southeast coast of China and is often affected by the transboundary movement from the Asian continent during the northeast monsoon in winter season, with a resultant deterioration of the local air quality (Chen et al, 2015;Hsu et al, 2016;. The prevailing winds are the southwest monsoon from the ocean in summer (June-August) and the northeast monsoon from China in the winter (DecemberFebruary).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prevailing winds are the southwest monsoon from the ocean in summer (June-August) and the northeast monsoon from China in the winter (DecemberFebruary). The winter monsoon brings cold air to Taiwan, but it also carries air pollutants and dust (Hsu et al, 2005;Chi et al, 2014;Chuang et al, 2016;Hsu et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Seasonality and Transport Route on Chemical Characteristics of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 in the East Asian Pacific Rim Region

Yeh

Lee

Brimblecombe

2017

This study investigated seasonal variation and transport routes of PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 associated metallic elements in the western coastal area of southern Taiwan. Particle sampling was conducted from March 2009 to February 2010. Sixteen metallic elements in PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 samples were determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Multiple approaches, backward trajectory analysis, enrichment factors (EF c ), and principle component analysis (PCA), were used to identify the potential sources of the metallic elements. Analysis of the temporal distribution revealed seasonal peaks for most of the trace elements in PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 during winter season and the major elements in PM 2.5-10 during the autumn season. The EF c confirmed that the main contributors of Cu, As, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Se were anthropogenic sources. PCA suggested traffic emissions, coal, and heavy oil combustion from both local and neighboring areas, as the major anthropogenic contributors at the sampling site. Backward trajectory analysis, demonstrated different chemical characteristics between the northeast (winter originating in China) and southwest monsoon (summer, from the Southeast Asia). Even in the same season, route-dependent effects of long-range transport in metallic concentrations and total excess cancer risk (ECR) of health-related metals were observed.