scholarly journals High PM2.5 Concentrations in a Small Residential City with Low Anthropogenic Emissions in South Korea

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Yeo Byun ◽  
Hekap Kim ◽  
Young-Ji Han ◽  
Sang-Deok Lee ◽  
Sung-Won Park
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Anthropogenic Emissions ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
City Water

High particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations have been considered a serious environmental issue in South Korea. Recent studies have focused mostly on metropolitan and industrial cities; however, high PM2.5 episodes have also been frequently observed even in small– and middle-sized cities. Thus, in this study, PM2.5 and its major chemical components were measured in a small residential city with low anthropogenic emissions for 2 years to identify the factors affecting the PM2.5 concentrations. Overall, the average PM2.5 concentration was 29.4 μg m−3: about two times higher than the annual ambient air quality standard value. In winter, when the PM2.5 concentrations were generally higher, relative humidity (RH) was significantly correlated with both PM2.5 mass and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio, suggesting that high RH promoted the formation of secondary PM2.5. In addition, SO42−and NO3− were found to be correlated with both NH4+ and K+ in winter, indicating that biomass burning was an important source in this city. Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was also highly correlated with elemental carbon (EC) and K+ in fall and winter, when the burning of agricultural residues actively occurred. During high concentration episodes, NO3− exhibited the highest increase; nevertheless, other components (e.g., K+ and organic carbon) also significantly increased.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Carbonaceous PM2.5 in a Small Residential City in Korea

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Min Park ◽  
Young-Ji Han ◽  
Sung-Hwan Cho ◽  
Hyun-Woong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Ambient Air Quality Standard

PM2.5 has been a serious issue in South Korea not only in urban and industrial areas but also in rural and background areas. In this study, PM2.5 and its carbonaceous compounds including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected and analyzed in a small residential city. The PM2.5 concentration frequently exceeded the national ambient air quality standard during the spring and the winter, which often occurred concurrently with fog and mist events. Over the whole sampling period, both OC and the OC/EC ratio were considerably higher than the ratios in other cities in Korea, which suggests that sources other than vehicular emissions were important. The top 10% of OC/EC ratio samples could be explained by regional and long-range transport because there was a strong correlation between primary and secondary organic carbon. However, biomass combustion was likely to account for the consistently high OC concentration due to a strong correlation between WSOC and primary OC as well as the diagnostic ratio results of PAHs.

scholarly journals A semicontinuous study on the ecotoxicity of atmospheric particles using a versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES): development and field characterization

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1037-1045
Author(s):  
Xiaona Shang ◽  
Ling Li ◽  
Xinlian Zhang ◽  
Huihui Kang ◽  
Guodong Sui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Concentration ◽  
Saturation Temperature ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Atmospheric Particles ◽  
Aerosol Concentration ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
High Detection Limit ◽  
Pm2.5 Concentration

Abstract. Oxidative stress can be used to evaluate not only adverse health effects but also adverse ecological effects, but limited research uses eco-toxicological assay to assess the risks posed by particle matters to non-human biomes. One important reason might be that the concentration of toxic components of atmospheric particles is far below the high detection limit of eco-toxic measurement. To solve the rapid detection problem, we extended a versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES) for ecotoxicity aerosol measurement and firstly used VACES to provide a comparison of ecotoxicity between non-concentrated and concentrated aerosols in ambient air. In this study, the total concentration (number or mass), the concentration of chemical components and the ecotoxicity were all increased by approximately 7 to 10 times in VACES, making the detection of ecotoxicity above the baseline. The comparison of ecotoxicity data and PM2.5 concentration showed that low concentration was not matched with ecotoxicity, although high concentration corresponded to higher ecotoxicity. In addition, the higher saturation temperature in VACES caused a loss of particulate matter, of which nitrate accounted for about 18 %.

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in aerosol radiative effects over ecological area in south China: Composition and transmission implications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma Yining ◽  
Xin Jinyuan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Radiative Effects ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
Ecological Region ◽  
Aerosol Radiative

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> Ecological region in southern China has been perennially affected by monsoon climate and anthropogenic emissions, resulting in complex aerosol components and frequent long-range transport. In this study, a Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model is applied to estimate aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) and multiple aerosol observation datasets is used to estimate the aerosol chemical components and optical properties. The aerosol loading and the radiative effects in the ecological region exhibited strong seasonal changes. The average major components (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>) in Total water soluble ionic (TWSI) ,organic carbon (OC) concentration, the ratio of organic carbon to element carbon (OC/EC) and biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSOA) tracers were 3.20±1.22 μg·m<sup>-3</sup>, 2.19±1.39 μg·m<sup>-3</sup>, 3.17 and 74.00±35.23 ng·m<sup>-3 </sup>in the dry season and 2.22±0.91 μg·m<sup>-3</sup>, 3.14±1.62 μg·m<sup>-3</sup>, 7.13 and 186.34±113.82 ng·m<sup>-3</sup> in the wet season, respectively. The average radiative forcing at the top of atmosphere (TOA) is -11.73±11.36 W/m<sup>2</sup> and -0.41±10.08 W/m<sup>2</sup> in dry and wet season. When the aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) less than 0.9, the retrieve frequency in wet season reached account for 75%. The increase of OC and BSOA transformed by forests in the wet season weaken the cooling effects. However, the dry season is mainly composed of anthropogenic inorganic aerosols, which enhances the scattering effect. The aerosol observation baseline also verified the seasonal variation of ARF in the ecological region. Driven by multiple factors such as meteorological conditions, emission sources, and the mixed state of particulate matter, the transport patterns of air masses in ecological area exhibits completely opposite affects to ARF.</p>

scholarly journals Combustion characteristics of water-insoluble elemental and organic carbon in size selected ambient aerosol particles

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 1905-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Wittmaack
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Diesel Soot ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soot Combustion ◽  
Complete Combustion ◽  
Ambient Aerosol ◽  
Soot Particles ◽  
Inorganic Oxides ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. Combustion of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) contained in ambient aerosol matter was explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). To ease identification of the particles of interest and to avoid or at least reduce interaction with simultaneously sampled inorganic oxides and salts, the approach used in this work differed in two ways from commonly applied procedures. First, rather than using a mixture of particles of vastly different sizes, as in PM10 or PM2.5, aerosol matter was collected in a 5-stage impactor. Second, the water soluble fraction of the collected matter was removed prior to analysis. Diesel soot particles, which appeared in the well-known form of chain-type aggregates, constituted the major fraction of EC. In contrast, OC containing particles were observed in a variety of shapes, including a sizable amount of bioaerosol matter appearing mostly in the size range above about 1 µm. During heating in ambient air for 1h, diesel soot particles were found to be stable up to 470°C, but complete combustion occurred in a narrow temperature interval between about 480 and 510°C. After diesel soot combustion, minute quantities of "ash" were observed in the form of aggregated tiny particles with sizes less than 10 nm. These particles could be due to elemental or oxidic contaminants of diesel soot. Combustion of OC was observed over a wide range of temperatures, from well below 200°C to at least 500°C. Incompletely burnt bioaerosol matter was still found after heating to 600°C. The results imply that the EC fraction in aerosol matter can be overestimated significantly if the contribution of OC to a thermogram is not well separated.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Locally Occurring High PM2.5 Concentration Episodes in a Small City in South Korea

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Su-Yeon Choi ◽  
Sung-Won Park ◽  
Jin-Yeo Byun ◽  
Young-Ji Han
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Secondary Formation ◽  
Ambient Air Quality Standard ◽  
Pm2.5 Concentration

In this study, the ionic and carbonaceous compounds in PM2.5 were analysed in the small residential city of Chuncheon, Korea. To identify the local sources that substantially influence PM2.5 concentrations, the samples were divided into two groups: samples with PM2.5 concentrations higher than those in the upwind metropolitan area (Seoul) and samples with lower PM2.5 concentrations. During the sampling period (December 2016–August 2018), the average PM2.5 was 23.2 μg m−3, which exceeds the annual national ambient air quality standard (15 μg m−3). When the PM2.5 concentrations were higher in Chuncheon than in Seoul, the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations increased the most among all the PM2.5 components measured in this study. This is attributable to secondary formation and biomass burning, because secondary OC was enhanced and water soluble OC was strongly correlated with K+, EC, and OC. A principal component analysis identified four factors contributing to PM2.5: fossil-fuel combustion, secondary inorganic and organic reactions in biomass burning plumes, crustal dust, and secondary NH4+ formation.

Chemical Characterization of Water-Soluble Organic Aerosols at Jeju Island Collected During ACE-Asia

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Yang ◽  
Jinhui Xu ◽  
Wai-Shing Wu ◽  
Chun Hong Wan ◽  
Jian Zhen Yu
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Carbon Mass ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Aerosol Characterization

Environmental Context. Atmospheric aerosols — particles suspended in the atmosphere — are responsible for many phenomena, including formation of cloud condensation nuclei and degradation of regional visibility. Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) components make up a significant fraction of the aerosols' carbon mass, and have consequently received increasing attention from researchers. The chemical composition of the WSOC fraction, and thus their sources and effects, are not well known. This study focusses on WSOC from samples collected in South Korea as part of ACE-Asia (Asia-Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment), a large international collaboration including Asia, the USA, Europe and Australia. Abstract.During the Asia-Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia) intensive field campaign, aerosol samples of less than 2.5 μm diameter were collected at Jeju Island, South Korea, for chemical characterization of the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fraction. The WSOC fraction had an average mass concentration of roughly half of that of sulfate and accounted for about two-thirds of the organic carbon mass. Thirty individual water-soluble organic compounds, belonging to the classes of mono- and di-carboxylic acids, aliphatic amines, and amino acids, were identified, accounting for 14% of the WSOC on a carbon basis. Oxalic acid was the most abundant single component. An additional 3% of the WSOC was estimated to be monomeric carbohydrates. Thermal analysis of the aerosol’s water extracts indicated that a significant fraction (~50%) of WSOC was thermally recalcitrant, possibly consisting of polymeric materials.

scholarly journals Assessment and evaluation of ambient PM2.5 in relation to its health effects in mineral-based coal-fired areas

Geofizika ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-90
Author(s):  
Shamsh Pervez ◽  
Rakesh Kumar Sahu ◽  
Yasmeen Fatima Pervez ◽  
Manas Kanti Deb ◽  
Suresh Tiwari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Risks ◽  
Central India ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Industrial Sites ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Ambient Air Quality Standard ◽  
One Year

Atmospheric PM2.5 pollution, has shown potential impact on the human health in general, thus it requires to look into the chemical characteristics of PM2.5 masses for designing effective policies to reduce health risks amongst public under exposure. The study carried out, here, has presented the ambient PM2.5 concentrations, concentrations of chemical components and associated health risks over rural and urban environments in the area of mineral based coal-fired industrial areas of central India for a period of one year (2015–16). Overall 260 PM2.5 samples, collected from rural, urban and industrial sites, were analyzed for various elements Al, As, Ca, Hg, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, K, Cd, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sb, Na, Mg, K, V and Zn, ions such as Na+, Mg2+, K+, Ca2+, F–, Cl–, NH4+, NO3–, SO42– and carbonaceous matter. The annual average PM2.5 mass concentrations were found to be ~2 to ~6 folds higher than the annual National Ambient Air Quality standard (40 µg m–3). Further this study also evaluates, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks associated with ambient PM2.5 exposures (via ingestion, inhalation and dermal). The elemental species that have shown non-carcinogenic risks for both children and adults of all three sites are: Co, Mn, Ni (rural), As, Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, V (urban and industrial sites). Similarly, the excess carcinogenic risks, in total, from Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb was found to be higher than acceptable limits (10–6 to 10–4).

scholarly journals Significant Contribution of Primary Sources to Water-Soluble Organic Carbon During Spring in Beijing, China

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Yali Jin ◽  
Caiqing Yan ◽  
Amy P. Sullivan ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
Xinming Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Formation Mechanisms ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Soluble Organic Carbon

Despite the significant role water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) plays in climate and human health, sources and formation mechanisms of atmospheric WSOC are still unclear; especially in some heavily polluted areas. In this study, near real-time WSOC measurement was conducted in Beijing for the first time with a particle-into-liquid-sampler coupled to a total organic carbon analyzer during the springtime, together with collocated online measurements of other chemical components in fine particulate matter with a 1 h time resolution, including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), multiple metals, and water-soluble ions. Good correlations of WSOC with primary OC, as well as carbon monoxide, indicated that major sources of WSOC were primary instead of secondary during the study period. The positive matrix factorization model-based source apportionment results quantified that 68 ± 19% of WSOC could be attributed to primary sources, with predominant contributions by biomass burning during the study period. This finding was further confirmed by the estimate with the modified EC-tracer method, suggesting significant contribution of primary sources to WSOC. However, the relative contribution of secondary source to WSOC increased during haze episodes. The WSOC/OC ratio exhibited similar diurnal distributions with O3 and correlated well with secondary WSOC, suggesting that the WSOC/OC ratio might act as an indicator of secondary formation when WSOC was dominated by primary sources. This study provided evidence that primary sources could be major sources of WSOC in some polluted megacities, such as Beijing. From this study, it can be seen that WSOC cannot be simply used as a surrogate of secondary organic aerosol, and its major sources could vary by season and location.

scholarly journals The ozone climate penalty, NAAQS attainment, and health equity along the Colorado Front Range

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Crooks ◽  
Rachel Licker ◽  
Adrienne L. Hollis ◽  
Brenda Ekwurzel
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Ozone Concentrations ◽  
The Usa

Abstract Background While ozone levels in the USA have decreased since the 1980s, the Denver Metro North Front Range (DMNFR) region remains in nonattainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Objective To estimate the warm season ozone climate penalty to characterize its impact on Colorado Front Range NAAQS attainment and health equity. Methods May to October ozone concentrations were estimated using spatio-temporal land-use regression models accounting for climate and weather patterns. The ozone climate penalty was defined as the difference between the 2010s concentrations and concentrations predicted using daily 2010s weather adjusted to match the 1950s climate, holding constant other factors affecting ozone formation. Results The ozone climate penalty was 0.5–1.0 ppb for 8-h max ozone concentrations. The highest penalty was around major urban centers and later in the summer. The penalty was positively associated with census tract-level percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents, children living within 100–200% of the federal poverty level, and residents with asthma, diabetes, fair or poor health status, or lacking health insurance. Significance The penalty increased the DMNFR ozone NAAQS design values, delaying extrapolated future attainment of the 2008 and 2015 ozone standards by approximately 2 years each, to 2025 and 2035, respectively.

scholarly journals Different Characteristics of PM2.5 Measured in Downtown and Suburban Areas of a Medium-Sized City in South Korea

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 832
Author(s):  
Sung-Won Park ◽  
Su-Yeon Choi ◽  
Jin-Yeo Byun ◽  
Hekap Kim ◽  
Woo-Jin Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Range Transport ◽  
Major Chemical ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Monthly Variations ◽  
Suburban Site ◽  
Pm2.5 Concentration

Chuncheon, a medium-sized city in South Korea, frequently shows high PM2.5 concentrations despite scarce anthropogenic emission sources. To identify factors increasing PM2.5 concentrations, PM2.5 and its major chemical components were concurrently measured at two different sites, namely, downtown and suburban areas. The average PM2.5 concentrations at the two sites were similar, but the daily and monthly variations in PM2.5 and its components were significantly larger at the suburban site. NH4+ was significantly higher at the suburban site than at the downtown site, whereas organic carbon (OC) showed the opposite trend. Several PM2.5 samples showed an abrupt increase during winter at the suburban site, along with an increase in the amount of OC, NH4+, and K+, and the correlations between water-soluble OC, K+, and NH4+ were considerably strong, implying that local biomass burning in the suburban site was an important source of high PM2.5 episodes. Secondary OC (SOC) concentration was generally lower at the suburban site than at the downtown site, but its contribution to OC increased during winter with an increase in relative humidity, indicating the significance of heterogeneous SOC formation reactions at the suburban site. These results indicate that relevant local measures can be put into place to alleviate the occurrence of high PM2.5 concentration episodes even in medium-sized residential cities where medium-and long-range transport is anticipated to be significant.

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