Abstract
Total suspended particles samples inside and outside the South Pu-Tuo Temple (SPT), a traditional Buddhist temple in Xiamen, China were collected and further analyzed for n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the periods of worship. It was observed that the concentrations of particulate n-alkanes at SPT were abnormally higher compared to the surrounding bus terminus and campus. In addition, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) equivalent concentrations at SPT (7.1-26.3 ng/m3) were significantly higher than those at the bus terminus (5.1-6.9 ng/m3) although the PAH concentrations were comparable. The hazard potential of PAHs in terms of the carcinogenicity of BaP inside SPT is not acceptable because the indoor air quality standard of BaP recommended by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China is 1 ng/m3 (daily mean). Ratios of fluoranthene to fluoranthene plus pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene to indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene plus benzo[g,h,i]perylene and 1,7-DMP (dimethylphenanthrene) to 2,6-DMP plus 1,7-DMP were further calculated; the values of these three together with the ratio of retene to phenanthrene separated the SPT samples from the bus terminus samples, in that SPT samples showed a strong influence of wood burning (such as bamboo sticks, stick coatings, and joss paper).
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) increasing environmental awareness, people are paying more attention to the existence and problems of indoor air pollution since people spend most of their time in either closed or semi-closed environments where carcinogenic PAHs and particulate matter levels are much higher than outdoors, especially those indoor places with activities such as smoking, cooking, and candle and incense burning (Li and Ro, 2000; Lung et al, 2003; de Kok et al, 2004)
The levels measured at South Pu-Tuo Temple (SPT) were comparable to the range of Total suspended particles (TSP) concentrations (227-348 μg/m3) measured in the urban area of Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil (Azevedo et al, 1999), lower than the range (429-991 μg/m3 and 28-1880 μg/m3) reported in the indoor air of the temples investigated in Taiwan (Lin et al, 2001, 2002) and higher than the highest concentration of TSP (119 μg/m3) measured in central London (Kendall et al, 2001)
The mean value of ΣPAH on the campus was around 56-57% less than the mean values at the SPT and bus terminus, The results showed that a significant contribution of particulate PAHs was from incense/candle burning at SPT and from bus engine exhausts at the bus terminus
Summary
Increasing environmental awareness, people are paying more attention to the existence and problems of indoor air pollution since people spend most of their time in either closed or semi-closed environments where carcinogenic PAHs and particulate matter levels are much higher than outdoors, especially those indoor places with activities such as smoking, cooking, and candle and incense burning (Li and Ro, 2000; Lung et al, 2003; de Kok et al, 2004). The activities of incense and candle burning on a 24-h basis would inevitably emit large amounts of particulate matter and PAHs, and the exposure to contaminated air during religious services may cause severely adverse health effects on the monks and temple staff who spend most of their working time in the temple. The measurement of particulate matter and PAH concentrations inside and outside SPT is necessary to assess the potential effects of incense burning on temple’s indoor air quality. The present study was aimed at characterizing particulate matter concentrations as well as the profiles of particulate n-alkanes and PAHs inside and outside SPT during the periods of worship, and assessing the impact of incense burning emissions and vehicle exhausts on ambient air quality.
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