Abstract
PM10, PM5, and ultrafine (< 0.132 μm) mass concentrations, and metals (As, Be, Ca, Cd, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn) in ultrafine particles were determined in urban Gwangju, Korea during the sampling periods of 4/2/2007-4/20/2007 in spring, 8/2/2007-9/12/2007 in summer, 11/19/200712/2/2007 in fall, and 1/16/2008-2/3/2008 in winter. Data showed that PM10 mass concentration was the highest in spring due to the contribution of long-range transported and fugitive dust particles, whereas mass concentration of ultrafine particles had no seasonal variation and was not significantly affected by dust particles. Enrichment factor (EF) for each metal and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) among ultrafine metals were conducted to evaluate effects of anthropogenic and natural sources on ultrafine metals and to determine association among metals. We found that Fe, Ni, Zn, Sb, and K exhibited relatively higher fraction in ultrafine size and had higher EF values (i.e., anthropogenic). Results from wind-dependent metal concentrations suggested that Zn and Ni in ultrafine particles originated from metallurgical sources from a nearby industrial complex. We also found that during an Asian dust event, Ca concentration increased most significantly among ultrafine metals.
Highlights
Combustion of fossil fuels and wood, natural metal aerosols (Buerki et al, 1989; Allen et al, 2001; Espinosa et al, 2001), exhaust emission from vehicles, industrial processes, and waste incineration can be anthropogenic sources for metal aerosols in the ambient atmosphere (Wang et al, 2008; Lin et al, 2008; Srivastava et al, 2008)
Long-range transported particles (e.g., Asian dust) and fugitive dust that occurred more often in spring substantially contributed to the increased PM10 (Choi et al, 2001; Kim et al, 2002; Senlin et al, 2007)
We observed no significant variation of ultrafine particle mass concentration
Summary
Combustion of fossil fuels and wood, natural metal aerosols (Buerki et al, 1989; Allen et al, 2001; Espinosa et al, 2001), exhaust emission from vehicles, industrial processes, and waste incineration can be anthropogenic sources for metal aerosols in the ambient atmosphere (Wang et al, 2008; Lin et al, 2008; Srivastava et al, 2008). Determination of metals composition of inhalable particles is important in determining their potential impact on human health (Allen et al, 2001). Longrange transport of aerosols will affect concentration and size distribution of metals (Xu et al, 2008). Size-resolved metal concentration will provide information on the toxicity level of metals, as well as on transport behavior in the ambient atmosphere and on inhalation characteristics of the human respiratory system. Ultrafine particles in the ambient atmosphere have been of particular interest because they provide a high surface area-to-volume ratio, leading to higher toxicity and reactivity (Dockery et al, 1994; Peters et al, 1997; Oberdörster, 2000). There has been limited information on size-resolved metal concentration, especially in ultrafine fraction
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