Characteristics Of Particulate Matter Pollution Research Articles

Dread and unknown characteristics of particulate matter pollution: cognitive and affective routes to air pollution prevention

This study investigates the effect of dread and unknown risks on individuals’ cognitive and affective responses and decision-making related to particulate matter (PM) air pollution. In particular, we investigate how dread and unknown risks play different roles in forming the cognitive and affective routes that affect the South Korean public’s intentions to reduce PM air pollution by adopting risk mitigation behaviors. One thousand South Korean adults participated in the study via a professional research company in 2022. Statistical analysis was performed using PROCESS Marco. Indirect effects and their significance were estimated using bias-corrected bootstrap (n = 5,000 resampling) confidence intervals (CIs). According to the results, perceived dread of PM air pollution had significant and positive associations with perceived health risks and negative emotion, and perceived risks had a significant and positive association with negative emotion. Moreover, the perceived unknown-ness of PM air pollution had a significant and positive association with perceived uncertainty, which had a significant and negative association with negative emotion. Our mediation models demonstrate that the cognitive and affective routes associated with the two risk dimensions had different effects on behavioral intentions to reduce PM air pollution. These distinct cognitive and affective routes have significant theoretical implications for the effective application of the psychometric paradigm in addressing various risk-related issues. The findings also imply that an appropriate level of negative emotion is crucial to motivate the public’s engagement in risk-reduction behaviors. While employing campaign messages that integrate perceived risk and negative emotional appeals derived from dread can be effective, caution should be taken not to diminish the public’s negative emotions when addressing the risk-related uncertainty in campaigns or interventions. Overall, our findings not only have several practical implications for environmental communication strategies but also make important theoretical contributions to the literature on risk perceptions and the psychometric paradigm.

Analyzing Characteristics of Particulate Matter Pollution in Open-Pit Coal Mines: Implications for Green Mining

The particulate pollution in the open-pit coal mines of China is particularly severe in winter. The aim of this study is to understand the pollution characteristics of particulate matter (PM) in winter and provide a basis for the prevention and control of particulate pollution. We took the problem of PM concentration at the bottom of the Haerwusu Open-pit Coal Mine (HOCM) as the research object. Dust monitoring equipment at two measurement points at different heights were positioned for continuous monitoring of the PM concentration. The data for three months were gathered. Statistical analyses were performed to analyze the variation characteristics of the PM and its relationship with meteorological factors. The results show that the average PM concentration in the study area is below the average daily limit of the China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (GB 3095-2012). However, the average concentration of PM10 exceeded the national limit in December. The order of PM concentration is observed as December > January > February. The correlation of PM is found to be positive with humidity and negative with wind speed. Temperature is found to be positively correlated with PM in December, while it is negative in January. At the same time, the temperature difference in December is negatively correlated with PM concentration. Under the combined action of multiple meteorological factors, the magnitude of the impact on the PM concentration at the bottom of the pit in winter is humidity > temperature > wind speed > temperature difference (inverse temperature intensity). In conclusion, PM2.5 is found to be more sensitive to environmental factors. The results of this study are particularly useful to progress in green mining.

Pollution Characteristics of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and Constituent Carbonaceous Aerosols in a South Asian Future Megacity

The future megacity of Faisalabad is of prime interest when considering environmental health because of its bulky population and abundant industrial and anthropogenic sources of coarse particles (PM10) and fine airborne particulate matter (PM2.5). The current study was aimed to investigate the concentration level of PM2.5 and PM10, also the characterization of carbonaceous aerosols including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and total carbon (TC) in PM2.5 and PM10 samples collected from five different sectors (residential, health, commercial, industrial, and vehicular zone). The data presented here are the first of their kind in this sprawling city having industries and agricultural activities side by side. Results of the study revealed that the mass concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 is at an elevated level throughout Faisalabad, with ambient PM2.5 and PM10 points that constantly exceeded the 24-h standards of US-EPA, and National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS) which poses harmful effects on the quality of air and health. The total carbon concentration varied between 21.33 and 206.84 μg/m3, and 26.08 and 211.15 μg/m3 with an average of 119.16 ± 64.91 μg/m3 and 124.71 ± 64.38 μg/m3 for PM2.5 in summer and winter seasons, respectively. For PM10, the concentration of TC varied from 34.52 to 289.21 μg/m3 with an average of 181.50 ± 87.38 μg/m3 (for summer season) and it ranged between 44.04 and 300.02 μg/m3 with an average of 191.04 ± 87.98 μg/m3 (winter season), respectively. No significant difference between particulate concentration and weather parameters was observed. Similarly, results of air quality index (AQI) and pollution index (PI) stated that the air quality of Faisalabad ranges from poor to severely pollute. In terms of AQI, moderate pollution was recorded on sampling sites in the following order; Ittehad Welfare Dispensary > Saleemi Chowk > Kashmir Road > Pepsi Factory, while at Nazria Pakistan Square and Allied Hospital, higher AQI values were recorded. The analysis and results presented in this study can be used by policy-makers to apply rigorous strategies that decrease air pollution and the associated health effects in Faisalabad.

Pollution characteristics of particulate matters emitted from outdoor barbecue cooking in urban Jinan in eastern China

To understand the pollution characteristics of particulate matter emitted from outdoor barbecue cooking in eastern China, measurements of the PM2.5 mass concentration, the number concentration of particles with a diameter of 0.01 to 1.0 μm, and the particle size distribution from 0.3 to 25 μm were carried out at seven barbecue restaurants in urban Jinan. The average PM2.5 mass concentration and sub-micron particle number concentrations at a distance of 1 m from the grills were 250 to 1083 μg/m3 and 0.90 × 105 to 2.23 × 105 cm–3, respectively, which were much higher than those in the ambient air of the urban area. Compared to the ambient atmosphere, barbecue cooking emitted very high levels of particles with a larger increase in the concentrations of super-micron particles than that of sub-micron particles. The super-micron particle number concentrations at the barbecue restaurants were 10 to 100 times higher than those observed in the ambient urban atmosphere. The barbecue smoke had a significant effect on the particle concentrations in the surrounding region. Both mass and number concentrations of particles exhibited maximum values immediately near the barbecue grills and often reached a peak at a distance of 10 to 15 m. The removal efficiency of a range hood for the cooking particles was tested in an indoor kitchen. The range hood effectively cleaned the particulate matter pollution caused by cooking with a removal efficiency larger than 80%. Therefore, the use of a range hood is recommended for outdoor barbecue restaurants coupled with a smoke purifier to clean the emitted high concentrations of particles.

Characteristics of Particulate Pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) and Their Spacescale-Dependent Relationships with Meteorological Elements in China

Particulate matter (PM) pollution in China has an obvious characteristic of spatial distribution. It is well known that intensive anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, have great influence on the spatial distribution of PM pollution. However, the spacescale-dependent relationships between PM concentrations and weather conditions remain unclear. Here, we investigated the characteristics of two types of particulate pollution, including PM2.5 and PM10, and their spatial relationships with meteorological elements in 173 cities throughout China from March 2014 to February 2015. Results: (1) High PM2.5 concentrations were distinctly located southeast of the Hu Line, and high PM10 concentrations were distinctly situated north of the Yangtze River; (2) Spacescale-dependent relationships were found between PM pollution and meteorological elements. The influence of temperature had similar inverted V-shaped characteristics, namely, there was serious PM pollution when temperature was about 15 °C, and there was slight PM pollution when temperature was less or more than 15 °C. Annual precipitation, wind speed, and relative humidity were negatively correlated with PM, while annual atmospheric pressure was positively correlated with PM; (3) The ideal meteorological regions were identified according to the quantified spatial relationships between PM and meteorological elements, which could be defined by a combination of the following conditions: (a) temperature <10 °C or >21 °C; (b) precipitation >1500 mm; (c) atmospheric pressure <900 hPa; (d) wind speed >3 m/s; and (e) relative humidity >65%, where air pollutants can easily be scavenged. The success of this research provides a meteorological explanation to the spatial distribution characteristics of PM pollution in China.

Influences of meteorological conditions on interannual variations of particulate matter pollution during winter in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area

To investigate the interannual variations of particulate matter (PM) pollution in winter, this paper examines the pollution characteristics of PM with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 and 10 μm (i.e., PM2.5 and PM10), and their relationship to meteorological conditions over the Beijing municipality, Tianjin municipality, and Hebei Province—an area called Jing–Jin–Ji (JJJ, hereinafter)—in December 2013–16. The meteorological conditions during this period are also analyzed. The regional average concentrations of PM2.5 (PM10) over the JJJ area during this period were 148.6 (236.4), 100.1 (166.4), 140.5 (204.5), and 141.7 (203.1) μg m–3, respectively. The high occurrence frequencies of cold air outbreaks, a strong Siberian high, high wind speeds and boundary layer height, and low temperature and relative humidity, were direct meteorological causes of the low PM concentration in December 2014. A combined analysis of PM pollution and meteorological conditions implied that control measures have resulted in an effective improvement in air quality. Using the same emissions inventory in December 2013–16, a modeling analysis showed emissions of PM2.5 to decrease by 12.7%, 8.6%, and 8.3% in December 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively, each compared with the previous year, over the JJJ area.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Humidification on the Pollution Characteristics of Particulate Matter in the Office

Indoor air quality has a direct impact on human health. Indoor air quality has aroused great concern. This experimental study compares the effects of different water humidification on the indoor particulate pollution characteristics, and analyzes the mass concentration and the particulate number concentration distribution of different sizes of particulates with time under each condition of the purified water humidification, the tap water humidification and the cold boiled water humidification in the office. The results show that under the three kinds of wetting conditions, the concentration of the fine particulates is higher. More minerals are contained in the tap water and the cold boiled water, so the two kinds of humidification have more significant impact on indoor particulate matter. But the purified water humidification has nearly no significant effect on it. The calcium and magnesium ionic compounds are partly removed after the water boiled, so the cold boiled water humidification has less impact on the indoor particulate matter than the tap water humidification. The mass concentration and particulate number concentration of the particle may also be affected due to the frequency of ultrasonic vibration.

Differentiating the effects of characteristics of PM pollution on mortality from ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.

Though increasing evidence supports significant association between particulate matter (PM) air pollution and stroke, it remains unclear what characteristics, such as particle size and chemical constituents, are responsible for this association. A time-series model with quasi-Poisson function was applied to assess the association of PM pollution with different particle sizes and chemical constituents with mortalities from ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes in Guangzhou, China, we controlled for potential confounding factors in the model, such as temporal trends, day of the week, public holidays, meteorological factors and influenza epidemic. We found significant association between stroke mortality and various PM fractions, such as PM10, PM2.5 and PM1, with generally larger magnitudes for smaller particles. For the PM2.5 chemical constituents, we found that organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were significantly associated with stroke mortality. The analysis for specific types of stroke suggested that it was hemorrhagic stroke, rather than ischemic stroke, that was significantly associated with PM pollution. Our study shows that various PM pollution fractions are associated with stroke mortality, and constituents primarily from combustion and secondary aerosols might be the harmful components of PM2.5 in Guangzhou, and this study suggests that PM pollution is more relevant to hemorrhagic stroke in the study area, however, more studies are warranted due to the underlying limitations of this study.

Particle size and chemical constituents of ambient particulate pollution associated with cardiovascular mortality in Guangzhou, China

Though significant associations between particulate matter (PM) air pollution and cardiovascular diseases have been widely reported, it remains unclear what characteristics, such as particle size and chemical constituents, may be responsible for the effects. A time-series model was applied to examine the cardiovascular effects of particle size (for the period of 2009–2011) and chemical constituents (2007–2010) in Guangzhou, we controlled for potential confounders in the model, such as time trends, day of the week, public holidays, meteorological factors and influenza epidemic. We found significant associations of cardiovascular mortality with PM10, PM2.5 and PM1; the excess risk (ER) was 6.10% (95% CI: 1.76%, 10.64%), 6.11% (95% CI: 1.76%, 10.64%) and 6.48% (95% CI: 2.10%, 11.06%) for per IQR increase in PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 at moving averages for the current day and the previous 3 days (lag03), respectively. We did not find significant effects of PM2.5-10 and PM1-2.5. For PM2.5 constituents, we found that organic carbon, elemental carbon, sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality, the corresponding ER for an IQR concentration increase at lag03 was 1.13% (95% CI: 0.10%, 2.17%), 2.77% (95% CI: 0.72%, 4.86%), 2.21% (95% CI: 1.05%, 3.38%), 1.98% (95% CI: 0.54%, 3.44%), and 3.38% (95% CI: 1.56%, 5.23%), respectively. These results were robust to adjustment of other air pollutants and they remained consistent in various sensitivity analyses by changing model parameters. Our study suggests that PM1 and constituents from combustion and secondary aerosols might be important characteristics of PM pollution associated with cardiovascular mortality in Guangzhou.

Particulate matter mass and chemical component concentrations over four Chinese cities along the western Pacific coast.

China has witnessed rapid economic growth in the past three decades, especially in coastal areas. Particulate matter (PM) pollution is becoming increasingly serious in China's cities along the western Pacific coast with the rapid development of China's society and economy. This study analyzed PM (PM10 and PM2.5) in terms of their mass and chemical composition in four coastal Chinese cities. The goal was to study the spatial variation and characteristics of PM pollution in sites under different levels of economic development and in diverse natural environments. A distinct trend for concentrations of PM and related chemical species was observed and increased from south to north in Haikou, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Tianjin. Secondary inorganic aerosols, crustal materials, and organic matter dominated the composition of both PM10 and PM2.5. Crustal materials were the most abundant species in the northern coastal areas because these areas have less vegetation cover and lower humidity than southern coastal areas. The presence of high SO4 (2-)/nitrate (NO3 (-)) concentrations indicated that the burning of coals gives significant contributions to PM10 and PM2.5. The differences observed in the characteristics of PM pollution in these coastal cities are probably caused by different levels of industrial and urban development.

Characteristics of particulate matter pollution in coke oven plant

To explore the characteristics of particulate matter pollution in coke oven plant, so as to provide scientific data for establishing occupational exposure limits for coke oven emissions. Concentrations of CO, SO₂, BSM, BTEX (concentrations of benzene, toluene and xylene were determined in this study), PM₁₀, PM₂.₅, 16 selected PAHs in PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ were determined in the work environment of a coke oven plant in Wuhan. The work environment was divided into the adjunct area, the bottom of, the side of and the top of coke oven. The concentrations of CO, SO₂, BSM, BETX, PM₁₀, PM₂.₅, PAHs in PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ were significantly related to working environmental categories, respectively, and were increasing as the adjunct area < bottom < side < top (P (trend) < 0.05). PM₁₀ was statistically significantly correlated with CO, SO₂, benzene, BTEX and BSM (0.705, 0.823, 0.664, 0.624 and 0.734, respectively). PM₂.₅ was statistically significantly correlated with CO, SO₂, benzene, BTEX and BSM (0.635, 0.916, 0. 680, 0.553 and 0.726, respectively). BSM was statistically significantly correlated with benzene (0.689). The ratios of PM₂.₅ to PM₁₀ between different work environments were not significantly different in one-way ANOVA (P > 0.05). The distribution of aromatic rings and the concentrations of total benzo[a] pyrene equivalents in PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ were not statistically different between work environments. The concentrations of particulate matter was related with other contents of coke oven emissions in coke work environment, and the contents and types of PAHs in PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ were similar.

Characteristics of particulate matter pollution in the Pearl River Delta region, China: an observational-based analysis of two monitoring sites

Two-year monitoring data (2006 and 2009), collected at the sub-urban site (WQS) and the background site (TH), were used to study the characteristics of Particulate Matter (PM) pollution in the Pearl River Delta region, China. Similar levels of PM(2.5) concentration measured at both sites seem to confirm that the fine particles have emerged as a major regional pollution issue. The seasonal variation of PM(2.5) concentration is associated with the regional monsoon circulations while the diurnal variation is related to land-sea breeze, traffic emissions and boundary layer development. Negative correlation was found in PM(2.5)-wind speed and PM(2.5)-humidity. Analysis of radiation, temperature and ozone suggests the existence of secondary aerosol formation. Transport effect may be another contributing factor to high PM pollution in the region, such as occasional long-distance dust intrusion and trans-boundary effects from upwind areas.