Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10) Concentration of Subway Transfer Stations in Beijing, China

Song Pan,Li Chang,Zu Wang,Fei Pei,Wen Tong Chong,Xinru Wang,Liang Xia

doi:10.3390/su14031552

Abstract

Although much research is being conducted on the characteristics of PM2.5 and PM10 at subway stations, there is no research focusing on a complex subway transfer station. In this paper, the characteristics of PM2.5 and PM10 at transfer stations are studied. For comparison, monitoring is performed under different outside conditions at four different transfer stations in the non-peak period during March 2018. The concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 on the platform in the transfer stations is approximately 10 μg/m3 lower than in the non-transfer station, when outside PM2.5 is lower than 150 μg/m3. However, the ratio of PM2.5 to PM10 at the transfer stations (lowest: 78.1%) is higher than at the non-transfer station (lowest: 61.2%), indicating that the PM10 content differs from the non-transfer station. In a transfer station with the same depth, the PM concentration is the same or similar. In addition, the concentration of PM2.5 at subway stations has a strong correlation with the outside environment (R2 = 0.897), which indicates that an outside condition is important for the subway environment.

Highlights

The particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 can remain trapped in the human trachea and bronchi and can be swallowed or discharged from the respiratory system by coughing (Figure 1)
The temperatures ranged from 13.2 ◦ C to 26 ◦ C and the outdoor humidity varied from 5% to 39%
This study found that the particulate concentrations at transfer stations were different from those of non-transfer stations

Summary

Introduction

During China’s recent major urbanization, increased traffic created significant problems in large-and medium-sized cities. One issue is that commuting by subway greatly affects personal exposure to inhalable particulate matter. The particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 can remain trapped in the human trachea and bronchi and can be swallowed or discharged from the respiratory system by coughing (Figure 1). The fine particulate matter PM2.5 can enter the alveolar of the lungs and move directly into the blood [1]. Many epidemiological studies conducted in recent decades have shown that there is a positive correlation between particulate matter concentration and morbidity from diseases of the respiratory system, heart and lungs, especially for more vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly [2,3]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion