Breaking Yard Research Articles

Characterization of persistent organic contaminants in the atmosphere of Gadani's ship breaking yards and its surrounding: Implications for sustainable ship recycling practices

Gadani is internationally renowned for its extensive ship-breaking operations, positioning it as one of the globe's primary ship-breaking hubs. A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the presence of organic contaminants in the air within Gadani, encompassing the areas surrounding ship-breaking facilities, proximate residential settlements, and adjacent roadways. Passive air samplers were employed to collect a total of 30 air samples. The analytical results unveiled a notably elevated concentration of specific organic compounds, with a pronounced prevalence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at the ship-breaking yard. Notably, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and DDE were detected at substantially lower levels. In particular, sites in close proximity to ship-breaking activities exhibited elevated concentrations of PCBs (Σ7PCB 0.065429 to 7.345714 ng/sample), PAHs (Σ8PAH 2.44 to 134.23 ng/sample), and SCCPs (0.18 to 25.6 ng/sample). Conversely, DDTs and DDE demonstrated higher concentrations near residential settlements. The evaluation of Molecular Diagnostic Ratios for PAHs revealed anthracene/anthracene + phenanthrene ratios of 0.88, 0.69, and 0.5 for ship-breaking areas, roadside locations, and community surroundings, respectively. Furthermore, the benz[a]anthracene/benz-[a]anthracene + chrysene molecular ratios were measured at 0.77 (ship-breaking sites), 0.82 (roadside), and 0.83 (community), respectively. The molecular ratio of fluoranthene/fluoranthene + pyrene at ship-breaking sites was 0.23, while roadside and community ratios were 0.36 and 0.89, respectively. These findings underscore the significant contribution of ship-recycling activities to the atmospheric release of SCCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, emphasizing the global imperative for responsible ship recycling practices.

Impact of Ship Breaking Activities on the Water Quality at the Coastal Area of Chattogram, Bangladesh

The ship breaking area of Chattogram is one of the most ecologically effective regions in Bangladesh. It includes wealthy biodiversity that consists of numerous species which are endemic to this region. The impact of various physico-chemical parameters on pollution is a significant concern for both the environment and biodiversity. In order to evaluate the potential ecological impact, water samples were obtained using standard procedures from several sites within ship breaking yards. The values of physico-chemical parameters like, temperature, EC, TDS, TSS, pH, DO, BOD, salinity, oil and greases were found 29.65 ºC, 2028.87 μS/cm, 1014.89 mg/L, 7392.42 mg/L,8.03, 7.28 mg/L, 4.03 mg/L, 12.83 ppt, 7166.64 mg/L, respectively. A decreasing trend in the amount of trace elements present in water and sediment: Pb (0.46 mg/L) > Cr (0.49 mg/L) > As (0.205 mg/L) > Cd (0.049 mg/L). The concentrations of toxic metals, however, exceeded the permissible thresholds in both regions. Lead and chromium had no seasonal effects, whereas arsenic and cadmium significantly varied with the seasons. The evaluation of the heavy metal pollution index (HPI) and contamination factor (CF) showed that the study area had a critical score of water quality (HPI > 100). The metal concentrations had an elevated contamination effect (CI > 3). According to the study’s findings, the ship breaking site is moderately polluted with heavy metals and posed a risk to the ecosystem.

Enriched bacterial community efficiently degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil ecosystem: Insights from a mesocosms study

The comprehensive study on PAHs bioremediation together with microbial communities and their functional potential analysis is limited. PAHs biodegradation through mesocosm studies using polluted sediment from Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard was performed to compare the impact of 3 different bioremediation approaches (natural attenuation, combined treatment of bioaugmentation-biostimulation using enriched consortia and chemical fertilizers and combined treatment using enriched consortia and organic manures). The highest degradation of naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and total PAHs after 60d of incubation were 94.3%, 88.9%, 59.2%, 60.7% and 76.0%, respectively in bioaugmented-biostimulated mesocosms using eight consortia and chemical fertilizers. Microbial community structure analysis indicated that combined treatments of bioaugmentation-biostimulation were able to replace the native microflora with PAHs degraders. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes phyla were dominant in all mesocosms. Chelatococcus genus was absent as native microflora in natural attenuation treatment, which was dominant in bioaugmented-biostimulated mesocosms. The functional potential of microbial communities was estimated using the PICRUSt.

An Inclusive and Effective End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling System in India: Balancing Economy and Ecology from Grave to Cradle

End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) in India are often recycled by car breaking yards operating in the informal sector. In the absence of well-established, state-of-the-art ELV mechanisms, their work – ensures crucial recycling of ELVs. Multiple qualitative analysis methods, such as desk study, literature review, and field visits, are utilized. Our study shows the following: car breaking yards frequently work in an inefficient manner causing environmental hazards and health risks; the replacement policy adopted during vehicle servicing by Original Equipment Manufacturers and Authorized Dealers results in inefficient material use; Informal actors such as Private workshop owners and Reconditioning shops enable significant savings in material and costs, partly by substituting capital and energy with labour. We propose an inclusive 3R (reuse, recondition, and recycle) framework, which integrates various informal actors involved in ELV recycling. This sustainability-oriented framework ensures that the components and materials circulate in a closed loop.

Coastal and Marine Pollution in Bangladesh: Pathways, Hotspots and Adaptation Strategies

Marine and coastal pollution is a global issue for human health and biodiversity. We have investigated pollution sources, flow patterns, hotspots, challenges, and adaptation policies in Bangladesh. Industries, ship breaking yards, sewage, tourism, and transboundary depositions are the main sources of pollutions. The Ganges, Padma, Jamuna, Brahmaputra and Meghna carry wastes to the Bay of Bengal. Pollution hotspots are Dhaka, Gazipur, Narshingdi, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Khulna, Mongla port and Sylhet city. Textile and dyeing industries discharge 12.7–13.5 million m3 waste waters annually and pollute 20% of fresh water. Ship breaking yards dump about 22.5 tons polychlorinated biphenyls in a year. More than 50% of the marine oil pollution comes from urban activities. Plastic wastes at 3000 t day-1 and tourism are also contributing to the coastal pollution. Effluent releasing standards are not maintained, and thus higher concentrations of heavy metals are found with marine fishes. Use of heavy metal tolerant crops (rice: BRRI dhan47, potato: Cardinal, mustard: Brassica napus, flower: Marigold, vegetables: Cucumber, fibre: Kenaf, and so on), trap cropping, deep placement of fertilizers, integrated rice-fish-duck culture, etc can be adopted in polluted areas. There are laws for environmental issues, but coordination and financial capabilities does not warrant its effectiveness. Necessary steps are to be taken to improve infrastructure to ensure sanitation and benign discharge of industrial effluents. Systematic study on sources, fate and extent of current effluents dumping in water ways need to be assessed for wellbeing of aquatic life and human health.

Impact of International Standard System Application: In the context of ship recycling industry of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Bangladesh is a developing country in which ship recycling industry plays an important role to make the economy strong. The opportunities for skill development are few with less-availability of safety measure create a great challenge through enhancing uncertainties and risks. As a result, many workers are being affected to serious diseases/injuries and have been killed in accidents. Environment is also seriously been polluted by this industry. Recently, govt. has taken some major steps to allay the problem. One of the major steps is international standardization of the industry. The study tried to explore how the working class is reacting to the new rules and actually what type of improvement happened in the ship breaking yards. To evaluate this, I have used some statistical analysis like, Data representation, cross tabulation, chi-square test, logistic regression model. The results show that most of the workers are now aware about risk and pollution caused by this sector and they are trying to adopt the rules and regulations formed for them. Yet, majority of the workers are not apprised of the rules of ship recycling industry. So, training for the workers should organize regularly both internally and externally. 1 1 This article is permitted to unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Naphthalene degradation studies using Pseudomonas sp. strain SA3 from Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard, Gujarat

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) remediation has received considerable attention due to their significant health concern and environmental pollution. However, PAHs contaminated sites also contain indigenous microbes that can potentially degrade naphthalene. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate, characterise and optimise process parameters for efficient naphthalene degradation. A total of 50 naphthalene degrading bacteria were isolated from Alang-Sosiya ship breaking yard, Bhavnagar, Gujarat and screened for their naphthalene degrading capacity. The selected isolate, Pseudomonas sp. strain SA3 was found to degrade 98.74 ± 0.00% naphthalene at a concentration of 500 ppm after 96 h. Further, optimisation of environmental parameters using one factor at a time approach using different inoculum sizes (v/v), pH, salinity, temperature, carbon and nitrogen source greatly accelerated the degradation process attaining 98.6 ± 0.46% naphthalene degradation after 72 h. The optimised parameters for maximum naphthalene degradation were pH 8, 0.1% peptone as nitrogen source, 8% salinity and 1% (v/v) inoculum size.

Bioremediation of pb using bacterial strains isolated from alang ship yard and study their plant stress relieving effect on wheat, moong, and kidney beans under 500 ppm of lead contamination

Alang, ship breaking yard situated on north-west edge of Gulf of Khambhat. It is famous for ship breaking yard and contains very harmful heavy metals. Lead contamination is highest in Alang. To decrease the concentration of heavy metals many different physical, chemical and biological methods are available but they are harmful to nature and waste more quantity of chemicals. So, bioremediation is the best method to remove pollutants. A low concentration of heavy metals is required to plant for their growth and metabolic process but at higher concentration, plants do not survive. With the use of microbes, we can survive plants at certain levels. During this work, heavy metal tolerating microorganism was isolated from sea water of Alang and purified. Various tests were performed for identification and primary screening. in vitro examination in the different plants like moong, wheat, peanut, kidney beans and mat beans under 500ppm Pb concentration.

Assessment of health risks associated with potentially toxic element contamination of soil by end-of-life ship dismantling in Bangladesh.

Ship breaking and recycling industry (SBRI) loops back scarce ferrous and non-ferrous materials from dismantled ships and also renews the global shipping fleet by treating the end-of-life (EoL) ships. Currently, SBRIs in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan are dismantling the majority of the EoL ships by open beaching method. Accordingly, ship dismantling carries the blame of releasing potentially toxic elements (PTEs) to the coastal and marine environment risking the food chain through potential bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Health risk assessment associated with PTEs from open beach ship dismantling is scarce. This study aimed at assessing concentrations and seasonal variations of PTEs in soils exposed to the activities of SBRIs for their source apportionment by using contamination factor (CF) and multivariate statistical analysis, while carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks due to the PTEs have also been determined. Soil samples were collected twice-during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons-from three working zones of each of the 15 different ship breaking yards spanning the entire SBRI zone in Bangladesh. Soil contamination was assessed by using the CF, and inverse distance weighting interpolation mapping showed the spatial distribution of metals at SBRI zone in Bangladesh. Multivariate statistical analysis, principal component analysis, and correlation matrix yielded the source apportionment of PTEs. Subsequently, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks were assessed following the approach recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) with uncertainty estimation through Monte Carlo simulation. Contamination levels of PTEs followed Cd > Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Ni > Mn > As. Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Mn, and Zn were higher than the maximum allowable regulatory limits at storage zone and also higher as compared with the beaching and cutting zones in general. The contamination index indicated extreme Cd contamination in the area with elevated levels in pre-monsoon. Two principal components (PC) were identified-PC1 (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn) and PC2 (As, Cr, Ni) inferring their source segmentation. Indirect soil ingestion is the major possible exposure path to PTEs. The health index indicated the absence of any obvious health effects on the people active at SBRI yards in Bangladesh. The carcinogenic risk was for 6 to 7 persons per 100,000 people which was within the USEPA acceptable range.

Numerical Analysis of Boiler Fabricated from Ship Breaking Yard Steel Plate and Minimizing Workplace Casualties in Bangladesh

High numbers of workplace casualties and injuries are reported each year in Bangladesh due to explosion of the boiler in the rice husking mills, as well as other industries including garments factories. Rice husking mills are using locally made steam boilers, which are fabricated of steel plate obtained from the ship breaking yard and not equipped with standard safety devices and fittings. The motivation of this work is to find the causes of explosion of those boilers and provide some modifications to reduce workplace casualties. In this regard, some rice husking mills in the rural area of Bangladesh are inspected to evaluate the working and operating condition of the boilers. The mechanical properties of steel plate obtained from the ship breaking yard is found by tensile test in UTM and those mechanical properties are used in numerical analysis of the boiler, which is currently operating in the rice husking mills and fabricated locally from same source of steel plate. The FEA tool ANSYS workbench is used in numerical analysis of the boiler to evaluate maximum working stress due to thermal and static pressure load, which is found below the yield strength of the test specimen. From the instantaneous pattern of explosion in all boiler incidents and result of the numerical analysis, it is concluded that strength of steel plates obtained from the ship breaking yards is not the cause of boiler explosion, operational malfunction and lack of safety measures are the main causes of boiler explosion in Bangladesh especially in the rice husking mills. To improve safety measures, modification cost of the boiler is evaluated by modifying a locally fabricated steam boiler, which is also made of same source of steel plate and currently operating in the rice husking mill. The modification cost to install safety devices and fittings is found about Tk. 25,000 ($300), which is easily affordable by rice husking mill. Finally, some steps are recommended to reduce boiler explosion and concluded that steel plates obtained from the ship breaking yards have enough mechanical strength and can be used to fabricate low-pressure boilers.

Hazardous materials analysis and disposal procedures during ship recycling

Dismantling end-of-life ships in an environmentally sound and safe manner is of great concern as well as being a major challenge nowadays. When dismantling the vessel, on-board hazardous materials such as asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), glass fibre, solid foam and waste oil can incur severe negative implications on the environment and human health. The characteristics and harm of on-board hazardous materials are profiled in this paper. Current removal and disposal methods of hazardous materials are analysed. Further practical measures and suggestions to deal with the hazardous materials in the ship breaking yards are proposed. Two case studies about green disposal of the main hazardous materials during shipbreaking are presented. Both of the two companies are following Hong Kong Convention and verified by DNV-GL classification, which makes the recycling procedures of hazardous materials are quite similar to each other. In essence, more attention should be paid to the disposal of hazardous materials as integral to safe and environmentally sound practices when breaking the ships.

Pattern of skin diseases among workers in ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh

Dealing with different toxic chemical and physical agents in ship scrapping activities of ship breaking workers make them vulnerable to suffer from different occupational health hazards including skin diseases. this cross sectional study was carried out in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka and a temporary health center established near the ship-breaking yards of Shitakunda, Chittagong to describe the frequency and pattern of skin diseases among ship-breaking workers in Bangladesh. Five hundred workers of ship breaking yards were included consecutively, history was taken and examined to diagnose skin diseases. Physical examination and laboratory tests (patch test, prick test, woods lamp test, microscopy and histopathology) were done where needed. Most (69.2%) of the workers were from the age group 15 to 62 years and 27.8% were <18 years. Only 27 (5.4%) had some sorts of training and 24.8% do not use any type of protective measure. At least one form of skin disease was found in 47.8% workers. Types of skin diseases were contact dermatitis (19.4%), scabies (15.8%), accidental cut/burn/scald (15.6%), fungal infection (dermatophytosis / pityriasis versicolor/ candidiasis) (10.6%), impetigo / pyoderma (9.8%), seborrheic dermatitis (9.6%), acne 7.2%, palmoplantar keratoderma 4.8%, glossitis/stomatitis/ chelitis 4.4%, lichen simplex chronicus 3.4%, urticaria 2.4% and psoriasis 1.2%. Contact dermatitis, scabies, accidental cut/burn/scald, fungal infections, impetigo/pyoderma, seborrheic dermatitis and acne are the common skin diseases among ship breaking workers. Ensuring adequate protective measures, awareness and training can control these skin diseases among ship-breaking workers.Bangladesh Med J. 2016 Sep; 45 (3): 147-150

Ship Breaking Industries and their Impacts on the Local People and Environment of Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract The coastal area of Bangladesh is one of the most ecologically productive and it contains a rich biodiversity which includes several species that are endemic to this region. Much attention has been focused on ship breaking industries in the coastal areas because of the threat they pose to this thriving biological communities along with their other environmental impacts and the perilous working environment of the workers. The coastal environment of Sitakunda is severely contaminated by various processes related to ship-breaking i.e. the disposal of different toxic wastes into the sea water, deforestation by expanding ship breaking yard, changing land-use pattern and release of toxic substance into the soil. Moreover, the workers of this industry are exposed to an extremely risky and toxic working environment which makes them vulnerable to both physical and psychological disorder as well as to accidental deaths and injury. Still, workers embrace these risks for very poor wages and most of the profits go to the already rich businessmen. Despite various negativities, this industry has gained importance due to the increasing demand of raw material for re-rolling industries and employment opportunities for the people of the coastal areas. As this industry is indispensable due to its importance in the macro and micro economy of Bangladesh, a sustainable management approach should be taken to at least minimize the environmental and health impacts of ship breaking industries. The current paper aims to investigate the extent to which this industry is affecting the ship breaking yard labors and the environment, despite the growing concern nationally and internationally, and it uses both primary and secondary data.

Distribution of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments of the Bay of Bengal Coast.

The concentrations of major (Si, Al, Ca, Fe, and K) and minor (Cd, Mn, Ni, Pb, U, Zn, Co, Cr, As, Cu, Rb, Sr, and Zr,) elements in the surficial sediments were studied in an attempt to establish their concentration in the Bengal coast. It was revealed that the majority of the trace elements have been introduced into the Bengal marine from the riverine inflows that are also affected by the impact of industrial, ship breaking yard, gas production plant, and urban wastes. The concentration of heavy metals was measured using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence instruments. The highest concentrations for several trace elements were thus recorded which generally decrease with distance from the coast. It was observed that the heavy metal concentrations in the sediments generally met the criteria of international marine sediment quality. However, both the contamination factor and pollution load index values suggested the elevation of some metals' concentrations in the region. Constant monitoring of the Bengal coast water quality needs to be recorded with a view to minimizing the risk of health of the population and the detrimental impacts on the aquatic ecosystem.

ESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF SHIP RECYCLING ACTIVITY USING REMOTE SENSING APPLICATION

The Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) was launched for earth observation and there are more than 6 million scenes of archives including coastal areas during period of five years. The wealth of satellite imagery is noticeable for investigating monitoring methods such as ship detection in wide ocean area. Especially, it is useful way to estimate past behaviour from satellite imagery compared to reference data. We collected satellite imagery and analysis breaking process in major ship breaking yards between year 2009 and 2011. Comparing the number of recycling ships by satellite imagery to the world statistics is in good agreement. In this study, Remote Sensing Application has been discussed in order to assess the potential to be used for economic activities such as ship recycling in wide coastal area. It was used to evaluate the performance of ship recycling monitoring by Satellite imagery. Additionally, an approach for recognizing ships by SAR imagery regardless of weather conditions is presented.

ESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF SHIP RECYCLING ACTIVITY USING REMOTE SENSING APPLICATION

Abstract. The Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) was launched for earth observation and there are more than 6 million scenes of archives including coastal areas during period of five years. The wealth of satellite imagery is noticeable for investigating monitoring methods such as ship detection in wide ocean area. Especially, it is useful way to estimate past behaviour from satellite imagery compared to reference data. We collected satellite imagery and analysis breaking process in major ship breaking yards between year 2009 and 2011. Comparing the number of recycling ships by satellite imagery to the world statistics is in good agreement. In this study, Remote Sensing Application has been discussed in order to assess the potential to be used for economic activities such as ship recycling in wide coastal area. It was used to evaluate the performance of ship recycling monitoring by Satellite imagery. Additionally, an approach for recognizing ships by SAR imagery regardless of weather conditions is presented.

Heavy metals distribution and contamination in surface water of the Bay of Bengal coast

AbstractIn this study, we measured the distribution of heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cu) in the surface water of Bengal Coast at the southern part of Bangladesh. We also examined the common water quality parameters to discuss the impacts of pollution. It was revealed that the majority of the heavy metals have been introduced into the Bengal marine from the riverine inflows that are also affected by the impact of industrial, ship breaking yard, gas production plant and urban wastes. The concentration of heavy metals was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) instrument. Heavy metals concentrations were found to decrease in sequence of Fe > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cd > Ni. Results showed that heavy metal concentrations in the marine surface water generally exceed the criteria of international marine water quality. Moreover, both the contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI) values suggested the elevation of heavy metals concentration in the region. Constant monitoring of the Bengal co...

Chitosan-Based Aerogel Membrane for Robust Oil-in-Water Emulsion Separation.

Here, we demonstrate direct recovery of water from stable emulsion waste using aerogel membrane. Chitosan-based gel was transformed into highly porous aerogel membrane using bio-origin genipin as cross-linking agent. Aerogel membranes were characterized for their morphology using SEM, chemical composition by FTIR and solid-UV. Further, aerogel was tested for recovery of high quality water from oil spill sample collected from ship breaking yard. High quality (with >99% purity) water was recovered with a flux rate of >600 L·m(-2)·h(-1)·bar(-1). After repeated use, aerogel membranes were tested for greener disposal possibilities by biodegrading membrane in soil.

Environmental Impacts of Ship Breaking and Recycling Industry of Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Ship dismantling of Bangladesh is a reason of concern due to its economic values and environmental hazards. This study focuses on the Ship Breaking and Recycling Industry (SBRI) of Bangladesh to assess the environmental impacts. It was done by analyzing the water quality parameters like, Turbidity, Salinity, Electric conductivity (EC), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Temperature, Ammonia-Nitrogen, Nitrate–Nitrogen, Phosphate concentrations of inside and surroundings of Ship Breaking Yard. Turbidity ranged from 7.71 to 119 FTU in and 4.07 to 41.74 FTU in inside and outside the ship breaking yard, respectively. Salinity ranged from 0.95 to 14.28 ppt and 0.06 to 0.79 ppt in insde and outside, respectively. Value of EC varied from1.75 to 1280 µs/cm in inside and 0.21 to 15.7 µs/cm in outside, DO ranged from 3.77 to 7.94 mg/l in inside and 1.95 to 5.34 mg/l in outside. TDS value ranged from1280 to 15340 mg/l in inside and 74 to 825 mg/l in outside of ship breaking yard. Ammonia-N value ranged from 0.46 to 7.046 mg/l, Nitrate-N value ranged from 0.10 to 6.9 mg/l and Phosphate value ranged from 0.175 to 4.75 mg/l in the analyzed water sample. Magnitude of environmental alteration by establishment of ship breaking industry was assessed by quantifying Environmental impact value of Study area and the value was found as -93, where ecological parameters value was found -72, Physico-chemical parameters value was -70 and human interest value was found +49 which indicate negative alteration on environment.

Characterization of PM Using Multiple Site Data in a Heavily Industrialized Region of Turkey

Source apportionment has most often been applied to a time series of data collected at a single site. However, in a complex airshed where there are multiple sources, it may be helpful to collect samples from multiple sites to ensure that some of them have low contributions from specific sources such that edges can be properly defined. In this study, samples were collected at multiple sites in the Aliaga region (38°40′–38°54′N and 26°50′–27°03′E) located in western Turkey on the coast of the Aegean Sea. This area contains a number of significant air pollution sources including five scrap iron-steel processing plants with electric arc furnaces (EAFs), several steel rolling mills, a petroleum refinery, a petrochemical complex, a natural gas-fired power plant, a fertilizer plant, ship breaking yards, coal storage and packaging, scrap storage and classification sites, large slag and scrap piles, heavy road traffic, very intense transportation activities including ferrous scrap trucks and busy ports used for product and raw material transportation. A total of 456 samples of PM10 at six sampling sites and 88 samples of PM2.5 at one site were collected for four seasons and the elemental composition was determined for 43 elements. The newest version of EPA PMF (V5.0) that has the capability of handling multiple site data was used for source apportionment. Eight factors were identified as iron-steel production from scrap (23.4%), re-suspended and road dust (23.3%), crustal (20.5%), marine aerosol (14.4%), biomass and wood combustion (7.2%), salvage activities (4.7%), coal combustion (3.7%) and residual oil combustion (2.8%). The pattern of source contributions and conditional probability function analysis were consistent with the locations of the known sources. Thus, the multiple site data allowed for a comprehensive identification of the primary sources of PM in this region.