Abstract
In order to evaluate the toxicity of PM2.5 in the Dushanzi area, PM2.5 samples were collected from December 2015 to July 2016, and a plasmid DNA damage assessment method was used to analyze the variation in the oxidative damage ability and its relationship with sampling conditions and toxic components (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals) loaded on the surface of PM2.5. The results showed that the TD30 values (toxic dosage of PM2.5 causing 30% of plasmid DNA damage) of both the whole samples and the water-soluble fractions were lower during the heating period (369 μg/mL and 536 μg/mL, respectively), but higher in the dust period and non-heating period (681 μg/mL and 498 μg/mL, respectively; and 804 μg/mL and 847 μg/mL, respectively). Studies on the effect of meteorological parameters showed an increasing trend in TD30 values for the whole samples and the water-soluble fractions as relative humidity, temperature and wind speed decrease. TD30 values for the whole samples and the water-soluble fractions were negatively correlated with Flu (r = −0.690,r = −0.668; p < 0.05), Flt (r =−0.671, r = −0.760; p < 0.05), BaP (r = −0.672, r = −0.725; p < 0.05), IcdP (r = −0.694, r = −0.740; p < 0.05), Pyr (r = −0.727, r = −0.768; p < 0.01) and BghiP (r = −0.874, r = −0.845; p < 0.01) during the heating period, while As (r = 0.792, r = 0.749; p < 0.05) and Sr (r = 0.776, r = 0.754; p < 0.05) during the dust period showed significant positive correlation. In addition, the TD30 values of PM2.5 collected during sand blowing weather was the highest (1458 μg/mL and 1750 μg/mL), while the average TD30 value of PM2.5 collected on hazy days were the lowest (419.8 μg/mL and 488.6 μg/mL). Particles collected on the first day after snowfall showed a lower oxidizing capacity (676 μg/mL and 1330 μg/mL). The characteristic TD30 values combined with back trajectory analysis indicated that hazy days were heavily influenced by air masses originating from the southern continent and local emissions, whereas the sand blowing weather came from the north of the Taklimakan Desert.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.With the advancement of industrialization and urbanization, air pollution has become a major environmental risk endangering public health [1,2]
Apart from that, the average daily mass concentrations of PM2.5 gathered during the heating period was 131.19 μg/m3 (Figure 2), which was lower than those observed in northern cities, such as Xian (257.1 ± 143.3 μg/m3 ), Shijiazhuang (234 ± 139 μg/m3 ), Jinan (156.6 μg/m3 ), and Handan (240.6 ± 120.7 μg/m3 ) in winter [30,31,32], but higher than those in southern cities such as Chengdu (115.41 ± 65.28 μg/m3 ), Shanghai (94.6 μg/m3 ), and Nanjing (79.92 μg/m3 ) [33,34,35]
PM2.5 were 69.92 μg/m3 and 39.92 μg/m3 during the dust period and the non-heating period, respectively, which is generally lower than the national standard for daily PM2. 5 (GB 3095-2012, 75 μg/m3 )
Summary
Donaldson et al [14] showed that some transition metals in the atmosphere, such as iron, zinc and copper, can cause Fenton reactions in lung fluid, releasing free radicals and leading to cell inflammation. Ying Hu et al [21] used the plasmid DNA evaluation method to evaluate the toxicity of atmospheric particulates in Beijing, which showed that the oxidative damage caused by the whole sample of atmospheric particulates in Beijing was equal to or slightly larger than that by the corresponding water-soluble part, and the biological activity decreased with increasing dose. Used this method to understand the toxicity of atmospheric particulates in Lanzhou, Beijing, Xuanwei, and other cities, and they found that water-soluble metals were one of the main factors causing DNA damage. It can provide a scientific basis for the control of atmospheric particulates in the Dushanzi area
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