Abstract
ABSTRACT Monitoring radionuclides in aerosols is critical to understanding the factors influencing the temporal variations in the atmospheric deposition of elements such as 7Be and 210Pb, which are frequently used as tracers in atmospheric studies. However, long-term monitoring at a high temporal resolution remains limited, especially in Asia. Therefore, in this study, we measured the radioactivity of the 7Be and 210Pb in surface aerosols collected on a weekly basis in a coastal city (Xiamen) in southeastern China from 2013 to 2015 (110 samples in total). The activity of the 7Be and 210Pb ranged from 0.17 to 9.84 mBq m–3 (mean: 4.37 ± 2.65 mBq m–3) and from 0.17 to 3.31 mBq m–3 (mean: 1.26 ± 0.78 mBq m–3), respectively. Compared to reports from other regions, the 210Pb activity, on average, was high, which may be related to the elevated 226Ra activity in the soil in southeastern China. Also, the annual mean of the 7Be activity was significantly correlated with latitude in the coastal region. Despite the difference in origin, the weekly 7Be and 210Pb activity was significantly correlated (r = 0.679, p < 0.001, n = 110) and showed similar temporal variations, with higher values during the cold dry season. The activity of both radionuclides was negatively correlated with the temperature and precipitation and positively correlated with the fine particle (PM2.5) concentration. The combined effective dose of the 7Be and 210Pb is approximately 5.7% of the limit for humans; thus, natural radioactivity should be considered as a potential threat to human health, especially in regions with high PM2.5 concentrations.
Highlights
Monitoring radionuclides in aerosols is critical to understanding the factors influencing the temporal variations in the atmospheric deposition of elements such as 7Be and 210Pb, which are frequently used as tracers in atmospheric studies
In this study, we measured the radioactivity of the 7Be and 210Pb in surface aerosols collected on a weekly basis in a coastal city (Xiamen) in southeastern China from 2013 to 2015 (110 samples in total)
The highest monthly 7Be (7.62 ± 0.97 mBq m–3) and 210Pb (2.57 ± 0.49 mBq m–3) activities were observed in Oct. 2013 and Dec. 2013, respectively
Summary
Natural airborne radionuclides (7Be and 210Pb) serve as powerful tracers for identifying and quantifying several atmospheric processes, such as the source, transport, and mixing of air masses; air mass exchanges between various atmospheric layers; and the residence times of atmospheric gasses and pollutants (Beks et al, 1998; Heikkilä et al, 2008; Papastefanou, 2009b; Poschl et al, 2010; Baskaran, 2011; Lal and Baskaran, 2012; Du et al, 2015; Zhang et al, 2015). It is important to understand the temporal and spatial variations of natural airborne radionuclides and influencing factors. Earlier studies have found that 210Pb is associated with fine particles (Schneider et al, 1983; Winkler et al, 1998). Some pollutants (e.g., 210Pb, metals, Huang et al, Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 19: 1969–1979, 2019 sulfates, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) may be transported with fine atmospheric particles (Schneider et al, 1983; Hu et al, 2002; Hu et al, 2012; Zhang et al, 2018). Understanding the factors influencing the temporal variations in 210Pb and 7Be has important implications for public health
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