Abstract
Many studies have indicated that the largest amounts of particle-bound polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are found on small particles, which result in them having the highest PCDD/F TEQ concentrations. Epidemiological studies have found associations between PCDD/F exposure and development of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease or cancers even in low exposure populations. Recently, in many countries, the concentrations of PM2.5 and PCDD/Fs have been one of the main foci of air monitoring systems. Several researches have suggested an association between air pollutants and health outcomes. However, publications about how PM2.5 and PCDD/Fs influence the health outcome in Taiwan are still limited. In this research, the spatial concentrations of PCDD/Fs in the vapor phase and the solid phase (TSP and PM2.5) were investigated during the winter seasons from 2012 to 2014 at different sites in Taiwan. The mean PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 10.8 ± 11.0 to 135 ± 64.3 fg I-TEQ m–3, with the highest concentrations found in the samples collected at industrial parks. Over 45.5% to 73.8% of the total PCDD/F concentrations were partitioned in the solid phase, while about 35.2% to 86.3% were distributed in PM2.5. The total quantities of the PCDD/F TEQs adsorbed onto PM2.5 measured at one northern urban sampling site (1,180 ± 294 pg I-TEQ g-PM2.5–1) and one northern suburban sampling site (1,110 ± 574 pg I-TEQ g-PM2.5–1) were higher than at other sites due to the influence of local municipal solid waste incinerators and long-range transport. Moreover, a significantly higher mortality risk was found for people living in areas with higher exposure rates of PM2.5 and PCDD/Fs.
Highlights
Many of the epidemiological studies have indicated significant correlation between the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and adverse effects on human health (Dockery et al, 1993; Pope and Dockery, 2006; Corbett et al, 2007; Perez et al, 2009; Samoli et al, 2014; Mohammadi et al, 2016)
Over 45.5% to 73.8% of the total PCDD/F concentrations partitioned in solid phase, while there were about 35.2% to 86.3% of PCDD/F concentrations distributed in
The total suspended particle (TSP) and PM2.5 mass concentrations found at urban areas ranged from 25.7±11.1 to 130±26.7 μg/m3 and 10.6±4.21 to 30.3±4.95 μg/m3, respectively
Summary
Many of the epidemiological studies have indicated significant correlation between the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and adverse effects on human health (Dockery et al, 1993; Pope and Dockery, 2006; Corbett et al, 2007; Perez et al, 2009; Samoli et al, 2014; Mohammadi et al, 2016). A study in the USA found that the mortality of all-cause mortality (1.18%), cardiovascular disease (1.03%), myocardial infarction (1.22%), stroke (1.76%), and respiratory deaths (1.71%) increased for each 10 μg/m3 increase in the PM2.5 concentrations (Dai et al, 2014). Other studies done in Taiwan indicated that there was significant correlation between PM2.5 and the rate for medical of asthma (Bell et al, 2007), arrhythmia (Tsai et al, 2009), and myocardial infarction (Hsieh et al, 2010). PCDD/Fs are formed and released unintentionally from anthropogenic sources, and capable of being transported through long distances to other environmental compartments
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