Spatial and seasonal variations of elemental and ion components in air particulate matters in three mega-cities in China

Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region is one of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of China. The rapid development of economy in last decades has caused severe air pollution problems, which has resulted in considerable harm to local ecological environment and human health. In this study, total 671 air samples were collected from Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang (the capital city in Hebei province), one reference site and four background sites in four seasons. Particulate matters (PMs) with different sizes, elements and dissolvable ions in PMs were analyzed. Pollutant concentrations, characteristics and seasonal variations were discussed in order to describe the pollution status and the possible sources in this region. Enriched factors of K, Ca, Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb were all higher than 10. Concentrations of dissolvable ions were in the order of NO₃^–, SO₄^2–>NH₄⁺>Cl^–>Ca²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺>Mg²⁺, F^–. NO₃^–, SO₄^2–, NH₄⁺, Cl^– were the most important ion pollutants in the three cities which accounted for 90.3–92.3% of total 9 ion concentrations. Ion concentrations in the PMs were in the order of PM₁>PM_1–2.5>PM_2.5–10>PM₁₀>TSP. More than 50% of the dissolvable ions exist in PM1 and the percentage increases to 73.9–94.8% in PM_2.5. Human activities should be the main sources of the metallic pollutants, among which coal combustion was identified as the primary one.     

Source apportionment of emissions from light-duty gasoline vehicles and other sources in the United States for ozone and particulate matter

Federal Tier 3 motor vehicle emission and fuel sulfur standards have been promulgated in the United States to help attain air quality standards for ozone and PM_2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm). The authors modeled a standard similar to Tier 3 (a hypothetical nationwide implementation of the California Low Emission Vehicle [LEV] III standards) and prior Tier 2 standards for on-road gasoline-fueled light-duty vehicles (gLDVs) to assess incremental air quality benefits in the United States (U.S.) and the relative contributions of gLDVs and other major source categories to ozone and PM_2.5 in 2030. Strengthening Tier 2 to a Tier 3-like (LEV III) standard reduces the summertime monthly mean of daily maximum 8-hr average (MDA8) ozone in the eastern U.S. by up to 1.5 ppb (or 2%) and the maximum MDA8 ozone by up to 3.4 ppb (or 3%). Reducing gasoline sulfur content from 30 to 10 ppm is responsible for up to 0.3 ppb of the improvement in the monthly mean ozone and up to 0.8 ppb of the improvement in maximum ozone. Across four major urban areas—Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, and St. Louis—gLDV contributions range from 5% to 9% and 3% to 6% of the summertime mean MDA8 ozone under Tier 2 and Tier 3, respectively, and from 7% to 11% and 3% to 7% of the maximum MDA8 ozone under Tier 2 and Tier 3, respectively. Monthly mean 24-hr PM_2.5 decreases by up to 0.5 μg/m³ (or 3%) in the eastern U.S. from Tier 2 to Tier 3, with about 0.1 μg/m³ of the reduction due to the lower gasoline sulfur content. At the four urban areas under the Tier 3 program, gLDV emissions contribute 3.4–5.0% and 1.7–2.4% of the winter and summer mean 24-hr PM_2.5, respectively, and 3.8–4.6% and 1.5–2.0% of the mean 24-hr PM_2.5 on days with elevated PM_2.5 in winter and summer, respectively.

Implications: Following U.S. Tier 3 emissions and fuel sulfur standards for gasoline-fueled passenger cars and light trucks, these vehicles are expected to contribute less than 6% of the summertime mean daily maximum 8-hr ozone and less than 7% and 4% of the winter and summer mean 24-hr PM_2.5 in the eastern U.S. in 2030. On days with elevated ozone or PM_2.5 at four major urban areas, these vehicles contribute less than 7% of ozone and less than 5% of PM_2.5, with sources outside North America and U.S. area source emissions constituting some of the main contributors to ozone and PM_2.5, respectively.     

Retrospective assessment of air quality management practices in Taiwan

In 1995, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA/TW) instituted a policy of levying emission taxes on polluters in order to combat the rampant national issue of pollution. Since that time, pollution control strategies, tightening exhaust emission standards for industry, improvements in fuel quality, and new stricter vehicle emission standards, etc., have been implemented. This study evaluates the effectiveness of these measures and examines the improvement of Taiwan's air quality. In this paper, we conduct a detailed analysis of change in the concentrations of pollutants (SO₂, NO_x and particulate matter [PM]) between two three-year periods (from 1996 to1998 and from 2000 to 2002). The pollution levels were generally lower in the latter period. Concentrations at 14 EPA/TW stations in central Taiwan were simulated and source apportionment analyses in three of Central Taiwan's largest cities were conducted using a trajectory transfer-coefficient air quality model. Correlation coefficients (r) between simulations and observations for the monthly means of the concentrations of SO₂, NO_x, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ during the study periods at the 14 stations are 0.56, 0.63, 0.70 and 0.31, respectively. The sulfur control policy greatly reduced SO₂ concentration island-wide, a stringent emission standard put into place for gasoline vehicles reduced NO_x concentration along highways, and an emissions tax placed on construction sites, as well as a regular program for road-dust sweeping, reduced primary particulate matter. Among all of the pollution abatement policies implemented, the most effective method for reducing PM_2.5 concentrations in the three largest cities involved the reduction of fine ammonium sulfate aerosols from point sources (56–63% of net PM_2.5 reduction). The next largest reduction was attributed to a diminishment in primary PM_2.5 emanating from point sources (27–56% of net PM_2.5 reduction). Secondary particulate matter, especially sulfate, was reduced from distances up to 150 km leeward of major pollution point sources such as Taichung Power Plant.     

Assessment of traffic-related air pollution in the urban streets before and during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games traffic control period

In order to investigate the air quality and the abatement of traffic-related pollution during the 2008 Olympic Games, we select 12 avenues in the urban area of Beijing to calculate the concentrations of PM₁₀, CO, NO₂ and O₃ before and during the Olympic traffic controlling days, with the OSPM model.Through comparing the modeled results with the measurement results on a representative street, the OSPM model is validated as sufficient to predict the average concentrations of these pollutants at street level, and also reflects their daily variations well, i.e. CO presents the similar double peaks as the traffic flow, PM₁₀ concentration is influenced by other sources. Meanwhile, the model predicts O₃ to stay less during the daytime and ascend in the night, just opposite to NO₂, which reveals the impact of photochemical reactions. In addition, the predicted concentrations on the windward side often exceed the leeward side, indicating the impact of the special street shape, as well as the wind.The comparison between the predicted street concentrations before and during the Olympic traffic control period shows that the overall on-road air quality was improved effectively, due to the 32.3% traffic flow reduction. The concentrations of PM₁₀, CO and NO₂ have reduced from 142.6 μg m⁻³, 3.02 mg m⁻³ and 118.7 μg m⁻³ to 102.0 μg m⁻³, 2.43 mg m⁻³ and 104.1 μg m⁻³. However, the different pollutants show diverse changes after the traffic control. PM₁₀ decreases most, and the reduction effect focusing on the first half-day even clears the morning peak, whereas CO and NO₂ have even reductions to minify the daily fluctuations on the whole. Opposite to the other pollutants, ozone shows an increase of concentration. The average reduction rate of PM₁₀, CO, NO₂ and O₃ are respectively 28%, 19.3%, 12.3% and −25.2%. Furthermore, the streets in east, west, south and north areas present different air quality improvements, probably induced by the varied background pollution in different regions around Beijing, along with the impact of wind force. This finding suggests the pollution control in the surrounding regions, not only in the urban area.     

Codependencies of Reactive Air Toxic and Criteria Pollutants on Emission Reductions

Abstract

It is important to understand the effects of emission controls on concentrations of ozone, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) simultaneously, to evaluate the full range of health, ecosystem, and economic effects. Until recently, the capability to simultaneously evaluate interrelated atmospheric pollutants (“one atmosphere” analysis) was unavailable to air quality managers. In this work, we use an air quality model to examine the potential effect of three emission reductions on concentrations of ozone, PM_2.5, and four important HAPs (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and benzene) over a domain centered on Philadelphia for 12-day episodes in July and January 2001. Although NO_x controls are predicted to benefit PM_2.5 concentrations and sometimes benefit ozone, they have only a small effect on formaldehyde, slightly increase acetaldehyde and acrolein, and have no effect on benzene in the July episode. Concentrations of all pollutants except benzene increase slightly with NO_x controls in the January simulation. Volatile organic compound controls alone are found to have a small effect on ozone and PM_2.5, a less than linear effect on decreasing aldehydes, and an approximately linear effect on acrolein and benzene in summer, but a slightly larger than linear effect on aldehydes and acrolein in winter. These simulations indicate the difficulty in assessing how toxic air pollutants might respond to emission reductions aimed at decreasing criteria pollutants such as ozone and PM_2.5.     

Air quality at Santiago,Chile: a box modeling approach II. PM2.5, coarse and PM10 particulate matter fractions

Ambient monitored data at Santiago, Chile, are analyzed using box models with the goal of assessing contributions of different economic activities to air pollution levels. The box modeling approach was applied to PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and coarse (PM₁₀–PM_2.5) particulate matter (PM) fractions; the period analyzed is 1989–1999. A linear model for each PM fraction was obtained, having as independent variables CO and SO₂ concentrations, plus a term proportional to (wind speed)⁻¹ that lumps together non-combustion emissions and secondary generation terms; wet scavenging is included as another independent variable. Model identification results show good agreement for the different parameters across monitoring stations. The washout ratios and scavenging coefficients agree with data published in the literature, being higher for the coarse PM fraction. The CO and SO₂ coefficients fitted for 1989–1995 agree with a priori estimates for the same period. Background estimates for the PM fractions are in agreement with measurement campaigns in upwind sites. Results show that transportation sources have become the dominant contributors to ambient PM levels, while stationary sources have decreased their contributions in the last years. The relative importance of mobile sources to PM_2.5 ambient concentrations has doubled in the last 10 years, whereas stationary sources have reduced their relative contributions to half the value in the early 1990s. Model estimates of regional background of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ have decreased 50% and 22% in the last decade, respectively; coarse background has shown no significant change. The final conclusion is that there is room and need for a more intensive emission reduction strategy for Santiago, focusing on mobile sources. The approach pursued in this work is feasible for cities or regions where comprehensive, transport and chemistry models are not available yet, but estimates of air quality contributions are needed for policy purposes. The methodology requires data on ambient air quality measurements and surface meteorology.     

Development of an individual exposure model for application to the Southern California children's health study

The Southern California Children's Health Study (CHS) investigated the relationship between air pollution and children's chronic respiratory health outcomes. Ambient air pollutant measurements from a single CHS monitoring station in each community were used as surrogates for personal exposures of all children in that community. To improve exposure estimates for the CHS children, we developed an Individual Exposure Model (IEM) to retrospectively estimate the long-term average exposure of the individual CHS children to CO, NO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and elemental carbon (EC) of ambient origin. In the IEM, pollutant concentrations due to both local mobile source emissions (LMSE) and meteorologically transported pollutants were taken into account by combining a line source model (CALINE4) with a regional air quality model (SMOG). To avoid double counting, local mobile sources were removed from SMOG and added back by CALINE4. Limited information from the CHS survey was used to group each child into a specific time-activity category, for which corresponding Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD) time-activity profiles were sampled. We found local traffic significantly increased within-community variability of exposure to vehicle-related pollutants. PM-associated exposures were influenced more by meteorologically transported pollutants and local non-mobile source emissions than by LMSE. The overall within-community variability of personal exposures was highest for NO₂ (±20–40%), followed by EC (±17–27%), PM₁₀ (±15–25%), PM_2.5 (±15–20%), and CO (±9–14%). Between-community exposure differences were affected by community location, traffic density, and locations of residences and schools in each community. Proper siting of air monitoring stations relative to emission sources is important to capture community mean exposures.     

Outdoor and indoor factors influencing particulate matter and carbon dioxide levels in naturally ventilated urban homes

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated indoor and outdoor concentrations of two particulate matter size fractions (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) and CO₂ in 20 urban homes ventilated naturally and located in one congested residential and commercial area in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The results indicate that the daily mean PM_2.5 concentrations measured in the ambient air, living rooms, and kitchens of all sampling sites exceeded the WHO guideline by 100%, 65%, and 95%, respectively. The daily mean outdoor and indoor PM₁₀ levels in all sampling sites were found to exceed the WHO guideline by 100% and 80%, respectively. The indoor PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations were significantly correlated with their corresponding outdoor levels, as natural ventilation through opening doors and windows allowed direct transfer of outdoor airborne particles into the indoor air. Most of the kitchens investigated had higher indoor concentrations of PM_2.5 and CO₂ than in living rooms. The elevated levels of PM_2.5 and CO₂ in domestic kitchens were probably related to inadequate ventilation. The current study attempted to understand the sources and the various indoor and outdoor factors that affect indoor PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and CO₂ concentrations. Several domestic activities, such as smoking, cooking, and cleaning, were found to constitute important sources of indoor air pollution. The indoor pollution caused by PM_2.5 was also found to be more serious in the domestic kitchens than in the living rooms and the results suggest that exposure to PM_2.5 is high and highlights the need for more effective control measures.

Implications: Indoor air pollution is a complex problem that involves many determinant factors. Understanding the relationships and the influence of various indoor and outdoor factors on indoor air quality is very important to prioritize control measures and mitigation action plans. There is currently a lack of research studies in Egypt to investigate determinant factors controlling indoor air quality for urban homes. The present study characterizes the indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and CO₂ in residential buildings in Alexandria city. The study also determines the indoor and outdoor factors which influence the indoor PM and CO₂ concentrations as well as it evaluates the potential indoor sources in the selected homes. This research will help in the development of future indoor air quality standards for Egypt.     

Indoor particulate matter in urban residences of Alexandria,Egypt

Indoor particulate matter samples were collected in 17 homes in an urban area in Alexandria during the summer season. During air measurement in all selected homes, parallel outdoor air samples were taken in the balconies of the domestic residences. It was found that the mean indoor PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 and ≤10 μm, respectively) concentrations were 53.5 ± 15.2 and 77.2 ± 15.1 µg/m³, respectively. The corresponding mean outdoor levels were 66.2 ± 16.5 and 123.8 ± 32.1 µg/m³, respectively. PM_2.5 concentrations accounted, on average, for 68.8 ± 12.8% of the total PM₁₀ concentrations indoors, whereas PM_2.5 contributed to 53.7 ± 4.9% of the total outdoor PM₁₀ concentrations. The median indoor/outdoor mass concentration (I/O) ratios were 0.81 (range: 0.43–1.45) and 0.65 (range: 0.4–1.07) for PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively. Only four homes were found with I/O ratios above 1, indicating significant contribution from indoor sources. Poor correlation was seen between the indoor PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 levels and the corresponding outdoor concentrations. PM₁₀ levels were significantly correlated with PM_2.5 loadings indoors and outdoors and this might be related to PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 originating from similar particulate matter emission sources. Smoking, cooking using gas stoves, and cleaning were the major indoor sources contributed to elevated indoor levels of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5.

Implications: The current study presents results of the first PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ study in homes located in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Scarce data are available on indoor air quality in Egypt. Poor correlation was seen between the indoor and outdoor particulate matter concentrations. Indoor sources such as smoking, cooking, and cleaning were found to be the major contributors to elevated indoor levels of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5.     

The impact of transportation control measures on emission reductions during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing,China

Traffic congestion and air pollution were two major challenges for the planners of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Beijing municipal government implemented a package of temporary transportation control measures during the event. In this paper, we report the results of a recent research project that investigated the effects of these measures on urban motor vehicle emissions in Beijing. Bottom–up methodology has been used to develop grid-based emission inventories with micro-scale vehicle activities and speed-dependent emission factors. The urban traffic emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM₁₀) during the 2008 Olympics were reduced by 55.5%, 56.8%, 45.7% and 51.6%, respectively, as compared to the grid-based emission inventory before the Olympics. Emission intensity was derived from curbside air quality monitoring at the North 4th Ring Road site, located about 7 km from the National Stadium. Comparison between the emission intensity before and during the 2008 Olympics shows a reduction of 44.5% and 49.0% in daily CO and NO_x emission from motor vehicles. The results suggest that reasonable traffic system improvement strategies along with vehicle technology improvements can contribute to controlling total motor vehicle emissions in Beijing after the Olympic Games.     

An enhanced PM2.5 air quality forecast model based on nonlinear regression and back-trajectory concentrations

An enhanced PM_2.5 air quality forecast model based on nonlinear regression (NLR) and back-trajectory concentrations has been developed for use in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. The PM_2.5 air quality forecast model is designed for use in the warm season, from May through September, when PM_2.5 air quality is more likely to be critical for human health. The enhanced PM_2.5 model consists of a basic NLR model, developed for use with an automated air quality forecast system, and an additional parameter based on upwind PM_2.5 concentration, called PM24. The PM24 parameter is designed to be determined manually, by synthesizing backward air trajectory and regional air quality information to compute 24-h back-trajectory concentrations. The PM24 parameter may be used by air quality forecasters to adjust the forecast provided by the automated forecast system. In this study of the 2007 and 2008 forecast seasons, the enhanced model performed well using forecasted meteorological data and PM24 as input. The enhanced PM_2.5 model was compared with three alternative models, including the basic NLR model, the basic NLR model with a persistence parameter added, and the NLR model with persistence and PM24. The two models that included PM24 were of comparable accuracy. The two models incorporating back-trajectory concentrations had lower mean absolute errors and higher rates of detecting unhealthy PM2.5 concentrations compared to the other models.     

Natural emissions for regional modeling of background ozone and particulate matter and impacts on emissions control strategies

Natural emissions adopted in current regional air quality modeling are updated to better describe natural background ozone and PM concentrations for North America. The revised natural emissions include organosulfur from the ocean, NO from lightning, sea salt, biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors, and pre-industrial levels of background methane. The model algorithm for SOA formation was also revised. Natural background ozone concentrations increase by up to 4 ppb in annual average over the southeastern US and Gulf of Mexico due to added NO from lightning while the revised biogenic emissions produced less ozone in the central and western US. Natural PM_2.5 concentrations generally increased with the revised natural emissions. Future year (2018) simulations were conducted for several anthropogenic emission reduction scenarios to assess the impact of the revised natural emissions on anthropogenic emission control strategies. Overall, the revised natural emissions did not significantly alter the ozone responses to the emissions reductions in 2018. With revised natural emissions, ozone concentrations were slightly less sensitive to reducing NOx in the southeastern US than with the current natural emissions due to higher NO from lightning. The revised natural emissions have little impact on modeled PM_2.5 responses to anthropogenic emission reductions. However, there are substantial uncertainties in current representations of natural sources in air quality models and we recommend that further study is needed to refine these representations.     

Characteristics and origins of air pollutants in Wuhan,China, based on observations and hybrid receptor models

To identify the characteristics of air pollutants and factors attributing to the formation of haze in Wuhan, this study analyzed the hourly observations of air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, and CO) from March 1, 2013, to February 28, 2014, and used hybrid receptor models for a case study. The results showed that the annual average concentrations for PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, and CO during the whole period were 89.6 μg m^?3, 134.9 μg m^?3, 54.9 μg m^?3, 32.4 μg m^?3, 62.3 μg m^?3, and 1.1 mg m^?3, respectively. The monthly variations revealed that the peak values of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, SO₂, and CO occurred in December because of increased local emissions and severe weather conditions, while the lowest values occurred in July mainly due to larger precipitation. The maximum O₃ concentrations occurred in warm seasons from May to August, which may be partly due to the high temperature and solar radiation. Diurnal analysis showed that hourly PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, and CO concentrations had two ascending stages accompanying by the two traffic peaks. However, the O₃ concentration variations were different with the highest concentration in the afternoon. A case study utilizing hybrid receptor models showed the significant impact of regional transport on the haze formation in Wuhan and revealed that the mainly potential polluted sources were located in the north and south of Wuhan, such as Baoding and Handan in Hebei province, and Changsha in Hunan province. Implications: Wuhan city requires a 5% reduction of the annual mean of PM_2.5 concentration by the end of 2017. In order to accomplish this goal, Wuhan has adopted some measures to improve its air quality. This work has determined the main pollution sources that affect the formation of haze in Wuhan by transport. We showed that apart from the local emissions, north and south of Wuhan were the potential sources contributing to the high PM_2.5 concentrations in Wuhan, such as Baoding and Handan in Hebei province, Zhumadian and Jiaozuo in Henan province, and Changsha and Zhuzhou in Hunan province.     

Impact of biomass burning on urban air quality estimated by organic tracers: Guangzhou and Beijing as cases

The impacts of biomass burning have not been adequately studied in China. In this work, chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds and particulate organic matters were measured in August 2005 in Beijing and in October 2004 in Guangzhou city. The performance of several possible tracers for biomass burning is compared by using acetonitrile as a reference compound. The correlations between the possible tracers and acetonitrile show that the use of K⁺ as a tracer could result in bias because of the existence of other K⁺ sources in urban areas, while chloromethane is not reliable due to its wide use as industrial chemical. The impact of biomass burning on air quality is estimated using acetonitrile and levoglucosan as tracers. The results show that the impact of biomass burning is ubiquitous in both suburban and urban Guangzhou, and the frequencies of air pollution episodes significantly influenced by biomass burning were 100% for Xinken and 58% for downtown Guangzhou city. Fortunately, the air quality in only 2 out of 22 days was partly impacted by biomass burning in August in Beijing, the month that 2008 Olympic games will take place. The quantitative contribution of biomass burning to ambient PM2.5 concentrations in Guangzhou city was also estimated by the ratio of levoglocusan to PM2.5 in both the ambient air and biomass burning plumes. The results show that biomass burning contributes 3.0–16.8% and 4.0–19.0% of PM2.5 concentrations in Xinken and Guangzhou downtown, respectively.     

Projected changes in particulate matter concentrations in the South Coast Air Basin due to basin-wide reductions in nitrogen oxides,volatile organic compounds,and ammonia emissions

An ozone abatement strategy for the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) has been proposed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and the California Air Resources Board (ARB). The proposed emissions reduction strategy is focused on the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions by the year 2030. Two high PM_2.5 concentration episodes with high ammonium nitrate compositions occurring during September and November 2008 were simulated with the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ). All simulations were made with same meteorological files provided by the SCAQMD to allow them to be more directly compared with their previous modeling studies. Although there was an overall under-prediction bias, the CMAQ simulations were within an overall normalized mean error of 50%; a range that is considered acceptable performance for PM modeling. A range of simulations of these episodes were made to evaluate sensitivity to NO_x and ammonia emissions inputs for the future year 2030. It was found that the current ozone control strategy will reduce daily average PM_2.5 concentrations. However, the targeted NO_x reductions for ozone were not found to be optimal for reducing PM_2.5 concentrations. Ammonia emission reductions reduced PM_2.5 and this might be considered as part of a PM_2.5 control strategy.

Implications: The SCAQMD and the ARB have proposed an ozone abatement strategy for the SoCAB that focuses on NO_x emission reductions. Their strategy will affect both ozone and PM_2.5. Two episodes that occurred during September and November 2008 with high PM_2.5 concentrations and high ammonium nitrate composition were selected for simulation with different levels of nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions for the future year 2030. It was found that the ozone control strategy will reduce maximum daily average PM_2.5 concentrations but its effect on PM_2.5 concentrations is not optimal.     

Characteristics of vertical profiles and sources of PM2.5, PM10 and carbonaceous species in Beijing

In August 2003 during the anticipated month of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, we simultaneously collected PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 samples at 8, 100, 200 and 325 m heights up a meteorological tower and in an urban and a suburban site in Beijing. The samples were analysed for organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) contents. Particulate matter (PM) and carbonaceous species pollution in the Beijing region were serious and widespread with 86% of PM_2.5 samples exceeding the daily National Ambient Air Quality Standard of the USA (65 μg m⁻³) and the overall daily average PM₁₀ concentrations of the three surface sites exceeding the Class II National Air Quality Standard of China (150 μg m⁻³). The maximum daily PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations reached 178.7 and 368.1 μg m⁻³, respectively, while those of OC and EC reached 22.2 and 9.1 μg m⁻³ in PM_2.5 and 30.0 and 13.0 μg m⁻³ in PM₁₀, respectively. PM, especially PM_2.5, OC and EC showed complex vertical distributions and distinct layered structures up the meteorological tower with elevated levels extending to the 100, 200 and 300 m heights. Meteorological evidence suggested that there exist fine atmospheric layers over urban Beijing. These layers were featured by strong temperature inversions close to the surface (<50 m) and more stable conditions aloft. They enhanced the accumulation of pollutants and probably caused the complex vertical distributions of PM and carbonaceous species over urban Beijing. The built-up of PM was accompanied by transport of industrial emissions from the southwest direction of the city. Emissions from road traffic and construction activities as well as secondary organic carbon (SOC) are important sources of PM. High OC/EC ratios (range of 1.8–5.1 for PM_2.5 and 2.0–4.3 for PM₁₀) were found, especially in the higher levels of the meteorological tower suggesting there were substantial productions of SOC in summer Beijing. SOC is estimated to account for at least 33.8% and 28.1% of OC in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively, with higher percentages at the higher levels of the tower.     

PM2.5 concentrations in London for 2008–A modeling analysis of contributions from road traffic

We report on the analysis of contributions from road traffic emissions to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations within London for 2008 with the OSCAR Air Quality Assessment System. A spatiotemporal evaluation of the OSCAR system has been conducted with measurements from the London air quality network (LAQN). For the predicted and measured hourly time series of concentrations at 18 sites in London, the medians of correlation, mean absolute error, index of agreement, and factor of two (FAC2) of all stations were 0.80, 4.1 μg/m³, 0.86, and 74%, respectively. Spatial evaluation of modeled and observed annual mean concentrations also showed a fairly good agreement, with all the values falling within the FAC2 range. According to model predictions, the urban increment (including the contributions from urban traffic and other urban sources) was evaluated to be on the average 18%, 33%, 39%, and 43% of the total PM_2.5 in suburban environments, in the urban background, near roads, and near busy roads, respectively. However, the highest values of the urban traffic increment can be around 50% of the total PM_2.5 concentrations near motorways and major roads. The total concentrations (including regional background, and the contributions from urban traffic and other urban sources) can therefore be almost three times the regional background. The total urban increment close to busy roads was around 7–8 μg/m³, in which the estimated traffic contribution is more than 2 μg/m³. On the average, urban traffic contributes approximately 1 μg/m³ of PM_2.5 to the urban background across London. According to modeling, approximately two-thirds of the traffic increment originated from exhaust emissions and most of the rest was due to brake and tire wear.

Implications: The urban increment and traffic contribution to the total PM_2.5 are significant and spatially heterogeneous across London. The highly heterogeneous distribution of PM_2.5 hence requires detailed modeling studies to be carried out at high spatial resolution, which can be particularly important for exposure and health impact assessment. This type of information can be used to quantify health impacts resulting from specific sources of PM_2.5 such as traffic emissions, to aid city and national decision makers when formulating pollution control strategies.     

Characteristics of water-soluble inorganic ions in PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 in the coastal urban agglomeration along the Western Taiwan Strait Region,China

PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10 aerosol samples were collected in four seasons during November 2010, January, April, and August 2011 at 13 urban/suburban sites and one background site in Western Taiwan Straits Region (WTSR), which is the coastal area with rapid urbanization, high population density, and deteriorating air quality. The 10 days average PM_2.5 concentrations were 92.92, 51.96, 74.48, and 89.69 μg/m³ in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively, exceeding the Chinese ambient air quality standard for annual average value of PM_2.5 (grade II, 35 μg/m³). Temporal distribution of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) in PM_2.5 was coincident with PM_2.5 mass concentrations, showing highest in spring, lowest in summer, and middle in autumn and winter. WSIIs took considerable proportion (42.2～50.1 %) in PM_2.5 and PM_2.5–10. Generally, urban/suburban sites had obviously suffered severer pollution of fine particles compared with the background site. The WSIIs concentrations and characteristics were closely related to the local anthropogenic activities and natural environment, urban sites in cities with higher urbanization level, or sites with weaker diffuse condition suffered severer WSIIs pollution. Fossil fuel combustion, traffic emissions, crustal/soil dust, municipal constructions, and sea salt and biomass burnings were the major potential sources of WSIIs in PM_2.5 in WTSR according to the result of principal component analysis.     

Modeling air quality during the California Regional PM10/PM2.5 Air Quality Study (CPRAQS) using the UCD/CIT source-oriented air quality model – Part III. Regional source apportionment of secondary and total airborne particulate matter

A comprehensive air quality modeling project was carried out to simulate regional source contributions to secondary and total (=primary + secondary) airborne particle concentrations in California's Central Valley. A three-week stagnation episode lasting from December 15, 2000 to January 7, 2001, was chosen for study using the air quality and meteorological data collected during the California Regional PM₁₀/PM_2.5 Air Quality Study (CRPAQS). The UCD/CIT mechanistic air quality model was used with explicit decomposition of the gas phase reaction chemistry to track source contributions to secondary PM. Inert artificial tracers were used with an internal mixture representation to track source contributions to primary PM. Both primary and secondary source apportionment calculations were performed for 15 size fractions ranging from 0.01 to 10 μm particle diameters. Primary and secondary source contributions were resolved for fugitive dust, road dust, diesel engines, catalyst equipped gasoline engines, non-catalyst equipped gasoline engines, wood burning, food cooking, high sulfur fuel combustion, and other anthropogenic sources.Diesel engines were identified as the largest source of secondary nitrate in central California during the study episode, accounting for approximately 40% of the total PM_2.5 nitrate. Catalyst equipped gasoline engines were also significant, contributing approximately 20% of the total secondary PM_2.5 nitrate. Agricultural sources were the dominant source of secondary ammonium ion. Sharp gradients of PM concentrations were predicted around major urban areas. The relative source contributions to PM_2.5 from each source category in urban areas differ from those in rural areas, due to the dominance of primary OC in urban locations and secondary nitrate in the rural areas. The source contributions to ultra-fine particle mass PM_0.1 also show clear urban/rural differences. Wood smoke was found to be the major source of PM_0.1 in urban areas while motor vehicle sources were the major contributor of PM_0.1 in rural areas, reflecting the influence from two major highways that transect the Valley.