Arsenic species in electronic cigarettes: Determination and potential health risk

Human exposure to contaminants from electronic cigarettes(e-cigarettes) and the associated health effects are poorly understood.There has been no report on the speciation of arsenic in e-liquid(solution used for e-cigarettes) and aerosols.We report here determination of arsenic species in e-liquids and aerosols generated from vaping the e-liquid.Seventeen e-liquid samples of major brands,purchased from local and online stores in Canada and China,were analyzed for arsenic species using high-performance liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.Aerosols condensed from vaping the eliquids were also analyzed and compared for arsenic species.Six arsenic species were detected,including inorganic arsenate(iAs~Ⅴ),arsenite(iAs~Ⅲ),monomethylarsonic acid(MMA),and three new arsenic species not reported previously.In e-liquids,iAs~Ⅲ was detected in 59%,iAs~Ⅴ in 94%,and MMA in 47% of the samples.In the condensate of aerosols from vaping the e-liquids,iAs~Ⅲ was detected in 100%,iAsv in 88%,and MMA in 13% of the samples.Inorganic arsenic species were predominant in e-liquids and aerosols of e-cigarettes.The concentration of iAs~Ⅲ in the condensate of aerosols(median 3.27 μg/kg) was significantly higher than that in the e-liquid(median 1.08 μg/kg) samples.The concentration of inorganic arsenic in the vaping air was approximately 3.4 μg/m~3,which approaches to the permissible exposure limit(10 μg/m~3) set by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA).According to the Environmental Protection Agency's unit risk factor(4.3 × 10~(-3) per μg/m~3) for inhalation exposure to inorganic arsenic in the air,the estimated excess lung cancer risk from lifetime exposure to inorganic arsenic in the ecigarette vaping air(3.4 μg/m~3),assuming e-cigarette vaping at 1% of the time,is as high as1.5 × 10~(-4).These results raise health concerns over the exposure to arsenic from electronic cigarettes.     

Emissions of intermediate volatility organic compound from waste cooking oil biodiesel and marine gas oil on a ship auxiliary engine

Ship auxiliary engines contribute large amounts of air pollutants when at berth.Biodiesel,including that from waste cooking oil(WCO),can favor a reduction in the emission of primary pollutant when used with internal combustion engines.This study investigated the emissions of gaseous intermediate-volatile organic compounds(IVOCs) between WCO biodiesel and marine gas oil(MGO) to further understand the differences in secondary organic aerosol(SOA) production of exhausts.Results revealed that WCO exhaust exhibited similar IVOC composition and volatility distribution to MGO exhaust,despite the differences between fuel contents.While WCO biodiesel could reduce IVOC emissions by 50% as compared to MGO,and thus reduced the SOA production from IVOCs.The compositions and volatility distributions of exhaust IVOCs varied to those of their fuels,implying that fuel-component-based SOA predicting model should be used with more cautions when assessing SOA production of WCO and MGO exhausts.WCO biodiesel is a cleaner fuel comparing to conventional MGO on ship auxiliary engines with regard to the reductions in gaseous IVOC emissions and corresponding SOA productions.Although the tests were conducted on test bench,the results could be considered as representative due to the widely applications of the test engine and MGO fuel on real-world ships.     

Exploring the formation potential and optical properties of secondary organic aerosol from the photooxidation of selected short aliphatic ethers

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation potential for six kinds of short aliphatic ethers has been studied. The size distribution, mass concentration, and yield of SOA formed by ethers photooxidation were determined under different conditions. The results showed that all six ethers can generate SOA via reaction with OH radicals even under no seed and NO_x-free condition. The mass concentration for six seedless experiments was less than 10 µg/m³ and the SOA yields were all below 1%. The strong increase in the SOA formation was observed when the system contained ammonium sulfate seed particles, while SOA yield decreased under the high-NO_x condition. SOA composition was analyzed using offline methods. Infrared spectra indicated that there are complex components in the particle-phase including carbonyls acid and aldehydes species. Moreover, the aqueous filter extracts were analyzed using ultraviolet-visible spectrometer and fluorescence spectrophotometer. For the fresh methyl n-butyl ether SOA, the largest absorption peak occurs at 280 nm and there exists slightly absorption in the 300–400 nm. Excitation-emission matrices display the distinct peak at excitation/emission = 470 nm/480 nm according to the fluorescence spectrum. These findings are important considerations of formation for ether SOA that can eventually be included in atmospheric models.     

Impact of transport of fine and ultrafine particles from open biomass burning on air quality during 2019 Bangkok haze episode

Transboundary and domestic aerosol transport during 2018–2019 affecting Bangkok air quality has been investigated. Physicochemical characteristics of size-segregated ambient particles down to nano-particles collected during 2017 non-haze and 2018–2019 haze periods were analyzed. The average PM_2.5 concentrations at KU and KMUTNB sites in Bangkok, Thailand during the haze periods were about 4 times higher than in non-haze periods. The highest average organic carbon and elemental carbon concentrations were 4.6 ± 2.1 µg/m³ and 1.0 ± 0.4 µg/m³, respectively, in PM_0.5–1.0 range at KU site. The values of OC/EC and char-EC/soot-EC ratios in accumulation mode particles suggested the significant influence of biomass burning, while the nuclei and coarse mode particles were from mixed sources. PAH concentrations during 2018–2019 haze period at KU and KMUTNB were 3.4 ± 0.9 ng/m³ and 1.8 ± 0.2 ng/m³, respectively. The PAH diagnostic ratio of PM_2.5 also suggested the main contributions were from biomass combustion. This is supported by the 48-hrs backward trajectory simulation. The higher PM_2.5 concentrations during 2018–2019 haze period are also associated with the meteorological conditions that induce thermal inversions and weak winds in the morning and evening. Average values of benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency quotient during haze period were about 3–6 times higher than during non-haze period. This should raise a concern of potential human health risk in Bangkok and vicinity exposing to fine and ultrafine particulate matters in addition to regular exposure to traffic emission.     

南京冬季云凝结核活化特征及闭合研究

2017年12月~2018年1月在南京地区对气溶胶的云凝结核（CCN）活化特征进行外场观测,并利用4种常用的闭合方法实现对CCN数浓度的预测.结果表明本次观测期间南京地区的气溶胶具有较高的CCN活性,吸湿性参数（κ）的平均值为0.36.对清洁到不同程度雾-霾天气溶胶污染的CCN活化特征进行对比分析,发现随着污染程度的加深,气溶胶的吸湿性逐渐减弱;在同一能见度（VIS）范围内,环境相对湿度（RH）更高的天气类型中气溶胶的吸湿性和活化能力也更高,这可能由于高RH条件能促进大气中非均相及液相反应生成更多的二次无机气溶胶.4种闭合方法的结果显示,利用临界粒径、截断粒径及粒径分辨的活化谱三种方法总体上均有较好的闭合结果.其中,对于低过饱和度（S）下的预测来说,利用截断粒径方法的闭合结果最为理想.     

长株潭城市群气溶胶时空分布与传输规律

为研究长株潭城市群大气污染时空演化特征及潜在传输规律,采用2008~2016年中分辨率成像光谱仪（MODIS）MAIAC气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）数据,分析长株潭城市群近10a来AOD演化特征.在此基础上,利用拉格朗日混合型单粒子轨迹模式（HYSPLIT）及全球资料同化系统（GDAS）气象要素数据研究大气污染物潜在传输规律.结果表明,长株潭城市群AOD呈现下降趋势,并以春、夏季下降幅度最为显著.空间上,AOD总体呈北高南低、西高东低分布特征,并与经济发展、城市化水平等因素密切相关.此外,长株潭城市群大气污染物向外长距离传输（>1500km）、中距离传输（500~1500km）以及局地传输（0~500km）比率分别为17.89%、36.45%和45.66%,主要影响湖北、江西、安徽、广东、广西、江苏和浙江等地区.研究结果有助于理解长株潭城市群大气污染的时空变化规律,同时为区域“联防联控”、建设“美丽中国”提供科学的辅助依据.     

基于多源观测资料的海峡西岸城市春季颗粒物污染研究

以海西区沿海城市为研究对象,重点分析了厦门地区2017年春季大气颗粒物污染过程中边界层要素演变及颗粒物水平和垂直分布特征,并利用地面观测数据、气溶胶激光雷达、卫星遥感分析等多源观测资料,探讨了3月1—2日颗粒物污染过程.研究表明,海西区颗粒物污染过程中,暖区条件下静稳小风和高温高湿条件有利于局地细颗粒物的吸湿增长,细颗粒物占比较高,而在受冷锋南下影响下东北大风和高湿条件下,粗颗粒占比较高;海西区沿海各城市的细颗粒污染趋势基本一致,而粗颗粒污染峰值在沿海城市由北向南依次出现,表现出显著的向南传输的特征;海西区细颗粒污染主要集中在近地面层,受人为源排放累积影响,粗颗粒则是由外源输入,并沉降至近地面附近;冷空气南下过程中,在由锋前暖区的静稳条件向冷锋过境转变时,气溶胶污染由局地累积向区域传输转变,颗粒物尺度也从细颗粒物转变为粗颗粒物.海西区空气总体较为清洁,在污染相对较小条件下,颗粒物污染是通过多来源、多尺度的污染物造成的,是受细颗粒局地源产生和输送及外源粗颗粒物的输入和沉降共同影响的.     

京津冀区域典型重污染过程与反馈效应研究

以京津冀地区2014年10月5~12日一次重污染过程为例,采用飞机AMDAR数据和WRF-Chem模式,分析了大气边界层垂直结构与PM_2.5的时空演变规律,定量研究了气溶胶直接反馈效应对多种气象要素的影响.结果表明：此次重污染过程地域范围广、持续时间长、影响强度大,PM_2.5污染呈带状分布,主要受地面均压场和高空纬向环流形成稳定的大气环流背景场、垂直层风场及逆温共同影响.气溶胶直接反馈效应导致京津冀地区整个时段太阳辐射量降低39.80W/m²,气温下降0.34℃,边界层高度降低36.64m,相对湿度升高0.90%.反馈效应南部地区较北部更显著,污染日强于平均时段和清洁天,气溶胶的辐射反馈作用使得各气象要素均呈现不利于污染物扩散的趋势,造成气溶胶聚集区PM_2.5浓度进一步增加.     

南京市两次秋季污染过程及成因分析

为探究南京秋季污染过程的特征和影响因素,利用MODIS(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)传感器获得的气溶胶光学厚度(Aerosol Optical Depth)、波长指数(Angstrom Exponent)、火点数据及CALIPSO(Cloud-Aerosol Lidar And Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations)卫星数据和来自NECP、MICAPS的温度、相对湿度、风向风速等常规气象要素数据,对南京2015年10月、2016年9月两次污染过程进行分析.研究结果表明:两次污染过程的AE412-470值(埃斯特朗波长指数α)均高于1,由此判断两次污染均以人为排放产生的细粒子为主.但2015年10月的AE412-470值明显低于2016年9月,说明在2015年10月污染过程中粗粒子所占比重高于2016年9月.结合对后向轨迹的分析发现,南京地区2015年10月污染天气的发生还受长距离输送的影响,污染源主要为来自内蒙古、山西等地的污染型沙尘粒子.研究还发现,较高的相对湿度、较低的地表风速、低混合层高度及贴地逆温等气象条件会导致污染物难以扩散稀释而累积在南京地区,造成该区域在秋季出现较严重的污染天气.     

成都秋季大气污染过程VOCs特征及SOA生成潜势

利用在线气相色谱-质谱（GC-FID/MS）监测系统,对成都市城区秋季典型大气污染期间环境空气中的77种挥发性有机物（VOCs）进行连续监测,分析了污染前期、污染中期、污染后期VOCs的污染特征、日变化规律.结果表明,成都市城区典型污染前期VOCs体积分数为38.9×10^-9;污染中期VOCs体积分数迅速增加,比污染前期高3.7倍,达到143.4×10^-9,污染后期VOCs体积分数为35.7×10^-9.污染前期VOCs日变化不明显,污染中期、后期VOCs日变化呈双峰性,分别出现在每天车流量高峰时段.此外,利用气溶胶生成系数（FAC）评估了不同污染阶段VOCs对二次有机气溶胶（SOA）的生成潜势,污染前期、污染中期、污染后期SOA浓度值分别为1.1,3.1,1.5 μg/m³,芳香烃是SOA的主要前体物.