Chemical Composition, Source Appointment and Health Risk of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 during Forest and Peatland Fires in Riau, Indonesia

Abstract

This study investigated the contributions of particulate matter (PM) from various emission sources during the dry season, which resulted from frequent fires occurring in degraded forests and peatlands in Indonesia. Samples of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) particles collected during the dry season in Riau, Indonesia were analyzed to determine the mass concentrations of metallic trace elements, ionic compound, black carbon (BC), and organic carbon (OC). The average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 at Riau, Indonesia were 63.85 ± 3.22 µg m-3 and 27.72 ± 2.40 µg m-3, respectively. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was adopted to identify possible PM sources and their contributions to the ambient PM level. The PMF results identified six major PM2.5 sources, including biomass burning (BB) (28.7%), secondary aerosols (SA) (26.9%), vehicle exhaust (VE) (12.8%), industrial emissions (IE) (12.3%), soil dust (SD) (11.9%), and sea salt (SS) (7.5%). Moreover, there were five primary PM2.5-10 sources, including VE (28.6%) and BB (24%), followed by IE (19.9%), SD (17.2%), and SA (15.3%). A conditional probability function (CPF) analysis revealed that the southeast sector dominated among source direction-dependent contributions. The noncarcinogenic health risks for both adults and children resulting from exposure to PM2.5 were mainly contributed by Co, Ni, and Mn, and carcinogenic risks were caused by the toxic metals Cr and Co. Both noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks resulting from cumulative multielement exposure for both adults and children exceeded acceptable levels. Clearly, more attention should be devoted to reducing the noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks caused by particulate-bound toxic elements through inhalation exposure.