Seasonal Behaviours and Weekdays/Weekends Differences in Elemental Composition of Atmospheric Aerosols in Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the seasonal distributions and weekdays/weekends differences in ambient aerosols and their elemental contents in the atmosphere of the 15 May City, Egypt. Aerosol samples were collected from March 2009 to February 2010. The concentrations of 14 elements including Na, Mg, Ca, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr were measured by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The mean aerosols concentrations were 290 µg/m 3 (spring), 250 µg/m 3 (summer), 330 µg/m 3 (autumn) and 400 µg/m 3 (winter). The measured elements showed a strong seasonal variation; with the highest concentrations in winter and the lowest in summer. Na, Mg, Ca, K, Al and Fe were the dominant elements, followed by Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb. The minimum concentrations were noted for Co, Cd and Cr. The dominant elements in aerosol represented 94%, 94.51%, 94.61% and 94.28% from the total measured elements and 5.08%, 5.74%, 6.11% and 5.44% from aerosol mass during winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively. The aerosols concentrations on weekends were reduced by 31.25% in the winter and 15.2% in the summer. The concentrations of the measured elements were higher on weekdays than weekends. The weekday/weekend concentration ratios were 1.69 and 1.38 for total measured elements during winter and summer, respectively. The mean Ni and Cd levels were higher than the proposed WHO, USEPA and the European Community standards. Significant positive correlations were found between the concentrations of aerosols, Mg, Ca, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Co, Zn and Cr. The enrichment factors (EFs) and the non-crustal fractions of all elements indicated that Na, Mg, Ca, K, Fe and Mn originate mainly from soil sources, whereas Co, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr are mostly emitted in the atmosphere of 15 May City from anthropogenic sources.

Temporal variations of fine and coarse particulate matter sources in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…The lower weekend PM mass and elemental constituents, as well as the estimated masses for source-related factors, suggest that traffic emissions are the primary drivers of the weekday/weekend differences observed in Jeddah, in line with previous investigations of air pollution trends in Jeddah (Porter et al, 2014; Alghamdi et al, 2014b) that similarly observed decreased NO x levels during weekends. These findings are also consistent with the observations by other investigators elsewhere who have attributed the decrease in air pollution concentrations on weekends to the decrease in traffic density (Latha and Highwood, 2006; Lonati et al, 2006; Hassan et al, 2013). The lower reductions in PM 2.5 concentration than PM 2.5–10 and PM 10 in weekends compared to weekdays additionally suggest that in spite of anthropogenic sources, PM 2.5 has longer residence time in air than PM 2.5–10 and PM 10 .…”

Heavy Metals Size Distribution in PM10 and Environmental-Sanitary Risk Analysis in Acerra (Italy)

“…The highest concentration values occurred in winter (123.00 µg m −3 ) and in summer (117.00 µg m −3 ). The generally higher concentration of aerosols observed during winter can be attributed to the lower dispersion rate of pollutants [36]. The summer peaks of PM 10 concentrations have been supposed to derive from higher number of illegal waste burning as well as wildfires and agriculture legal burning.…”

Accumulation and coarse mode aerosol concentrations and carbonaceous contents in the urban background atmosphere in Amman, Jordan

“…This imposes a serious threat because of continuous exposure to elevated PM 10 concentrations. In general, most of the aerosol research in the MENA region have been focused on the PM and some chemical characterization (e.g., Hamad et al 2015;Gherboudj and Ghedira 2014;Alghamdi et al 2014aAlghamdi et al , b, 2015Abdeen et al 2014;Hussein et al 2014;Hassan et al 2013;Boman et al 2013;Daher et al 2013;Engelbrecht and Jayanty 2013;Habeebullah 2013;Khodeir et al 2012;Rushdi et al 2013;Shaltout et al 2013;Waked et al 2013a; Kouyoumdjian and Saliba 2006;El-Araby et al 2011;Hussein et al 2011;Saliba et al 2010). Recently, long-range transport and sand dust storms/transport have been considered as a priority of the aerosol research in the MENA (e.g., Al-Dousari et al 2017;Basha et al 2015;Doronzo et al 2015;Alam et al 2014;Jaafar et al 2014;Saeed et al 2014;Dada et al 2013;El-Askary et al 2009;El-Askary and Kafatos 2008;Reid et al 2008;Saliba et al 2007;Satheesh et al 2006;Daum et al 1993).…”