Abstract
To investigate trace element pollution of PM10 in urban Chengdu, a Southwest megacity of China, as well as to assess the human health risks caused by exposure to PM10, we analyzed ambient PM10 samples collected at an urban site in Chengdu from November, 2014 to October, 2015. The annual mean concentration of PM10 in the sampling period was 173.6 ± 77.9 µg m–3, which is 2.5 times higher than the national recommended standard of 70 µg m–3. The mean metals content in PM10 was in the following order: iron (Fe) > zinc (Zn) > titanium (Ti) > copper (Cu) > manganese (Mn) > lead (Pb) > barium (Ba) > chromium (Cr) > strontium (Si) > nickel (Ni) > arsenic (As) > vanadium (V) > antimony (Sb) > cobalt (Co) > cadmium (Cd) > bismuth (Bi). The concentration of As in PM10 was observed to be 2.9 times higher than the secondary level recommended by the China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (GB3095-2012), whereas the concentrations of other metals were within the limit. Enrichment factor analysis indicated that As, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Sb mainly originated from anthropogenic sources. Five factors were identified by positive matric factorization (PMF) model. The sources identified were soil dust (48.4%), road dust (19.4%), fossil fuel combustion (14.9%), electroplating industry (13.8%), and metallurgy industry (3.5%). Particle morphology and chemical composition analysis revealed six major particle types, namely aluminosilicate, sulfur-containing, carbon-containing, chlorine-containing, biomass burning, and metal particles. The results of the health risk assessment indicated that Cr can be carcinogenic to both children and adults, and other trace elements were determined to be below the legislation threshold (Environmental Protection Agency limit values), except for As, which was observed to be above the threshold.
Highlights
Atmospheric inhalable particulate matter (PM10) originating from high-intensity anthropogenic activities, such as combustion, industrial processes, traffic emissions, and urban construction activities, as well as natural sources, is one of the most crucial environmental concerns of the megacities in China (Cheng et al, 2013), because of its impact on air quality, ecosystem health, and human health (Schmale et al, 2014)
The results of the health risk assessment indicated that Cr can be carcinogenic to both children and adults, and other trace elements were determined to be below the legislation threshold (Environmental Protection Agency limit values), except for As, which was observed to be above the threshold
A seasonal variation of PM10 mass concentration was observed (Table 2): higher concentrations were observed in winter (210.5 ± 97.8 μg m–3) and spring (193.3 ± 56.8 μg m–3) and lower concentrations were observed in autumn (156.6 ± 56.5 μg m–3) and summer (134.1 ± 42.5 μg m–3)
Summary
Atmospheric inhalable particulate matter (PM10) originating from high-intensity anthropogenic activities, such as combustion, industrial processes, traffic emissions, and urban construction activities, as well as natural sources, is one of the most crucial environmental concerns of the megacities in China (Cheng et al, 2013), because of its impact on air quality, ecosystem health, and human health (Schmale et al, 2014). These particles contain toxic metals and exhibit higher possibilities of causing cancer (Dockery et al, 1993). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) is another powerful tool for the characterization of particles
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