Source Apportionment in the Town of La Spezia (Italy) by Continuous Aerosol Sampling and PIXE Analysis

We describe the results of an aerosol sampling campaign performedin 1999 in the medium-size industrial town of La Spezia, in theNorthwest of Italy. We used two-stage continuous streakersamplers in three different sites and periods of the year. This kind of samplers allows the separation of the PM₁₀ andPM_2.2 fractions of the particulate matter. Moreover, the hourly resolution in the aerosol collection is particularly useful inan urban environment where, typically, many pollution sourceswith fast variations are present. Up to 1700 samples have beenanalysed by Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) at the INFNaccelerator facility in Florence, obtaining hourly concentrationfor about 20 elements from Na to Pb, with a sensitivity rangingfrom below 1 to about 10 ng m^-3. The total hourly aerosolmass has been estimated with an optical analysis of the samesamples performed (before the PIXE analysis) by an equipment designed and mounted in Genoa. An extensive statistical analysisof the data included standard and Absolute Principal ComponentFactor Analysis (PCFA and APCFA) to deduce the compositionand the weight of the major aerosol sources in both fractions.Thorough different statistical approaches, we generally resolvedcontributions from vehicle emission, fossil fuel combustion,soil-road dust and sea salt aerosol.     

Using urban man-made ponds to reconstruct a 150-year history of air pollution in northwest England

A regional pollution history has been reconstructed for the borough of Halton (northwest England) from four urban ponds in north Cheshire and south Merseyside, using environmental analyses of lake sediment stratigraphies. Mineral magnetism, geochemistry and radiometric dating have produced profiles of pollution characteristics dating from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. These pollution profiles reflect the atmospheric deposition of a range of pollutants over 150 years of intensified industry. Distinct phases of pollution deposition and characteristics are identified reflecting: (1) intensification of industry in the nineteenth century; (2) expansion of industry during the twentieth century; (3) post 1956 Clean Air Acts. This work promotes the potential use of these pollution archives for use in epidemiology to better understand links between human health and environmental pollution, especially for diseases with long latency times, where retrospective pollution exposure assessments are important.     

Assessment of heavy metals among suspended particulates and dissolved phases in Suez Canal water

The concentrations and distribution of particulate and dissolved heavy metals, viz: Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Fe and Mn have been determined seasonally during 2003 in water samples collected from the Suez Canal. The presented data clarifies that the metals exhibited clear differences in their distribution between particulate and dissolved forms. The concentrations of particulate metals viz: Zn, Pb, Cd, Fe and Mn were high as compared to the dissolved form. Dissolved copper showed the highest percentage of total copper rather than particulate. The particulate forms of Pb, Cd, Fe and Mn had always-higher concentrations than the dissolved forms during the course of study except at summer season. The northern part of the Suez Canal at Port Said showed mean concentrations of particulate and dissolved Cu = 1.43 and 2.10, Zn = 8.61 and 3.17, Pb = 1.72 and 1.23, Cd = 0.35 and 0.35, Fe = 23.49 and 15.83 and Mn = 2.09 and 1.82 μg/L. These high concentrations may be attributed to the high activities, particularly, loading and unloading operations at Port Said harbour, industrial effluents and domestic drainage of Port Said city. On the other hand, Sinai side could be considered as reference site, as it is almost clean without harmful outfalls, where Cu = 0.16 and 0.56, Zn = 2.14 and 0.94, Pb = 6.29 and 3.44, Cd = 0.055 and 0.088, Fe = 6.29 and 3.44 and Mn = 0.56 and 0.26 μg/L for particulate and dissolved metals respectively.     

Nitro-PAH exposures of occupationally-exposed traffic workers and associated urinary 1-nitropyrene metabolite concentrations

The assessment of occupational exposure to diesel exhaust(DE) is important from an epidemiological perspective. Urinary biomarkers of exposure have been proposed as a novel approach for measuring exposure to DE. In this study, we measured the concentrations of two urinary metabolites of 1-nitropyrene(1NP), a nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon that has been suggested as a molecular marker of diesel particulate matter. These two metabolites, 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene, were determined in urine samples(10 m L) from a small group of workers who were occupationally-exposed to vehicle exhaust in Trujillo, Peru, before and after their workshifts. Workshift exposures to1 NP, as well as PM_(2.5), 2-nitropyrene and 2-nitrofluoranthene, were also measured.Exposures to 1NP were similar in all studied workers, averaging 105 ± 57.9 pg/m~3(±standard deviation). Median urinary concentrations of the average of the pre- and post-exposure samples for 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene, were found to be 3.9 and 2.3 pg metabolite/mg creatinine, respectively in the group of occupationally-exposed subjects(n = 17) studied. A direct relationship between workshift exposure to 1NP and urinary 1NP metabolites concentrations was not observed. However,the 1NP exposures and the creatinine-corrected urinary concentrations of the hydroxynitropyrene metabolites in these Peruvian traffic workers were similar to occupationally-exposed taxi drivers in Shenyang, China, and were higher than biomarker levels in office workers from Trujillo without occupational exposure to vehicle exhaust.This study provides further evidence that urinary metabolites of 1NP are associated with exposure to DE and may serve as a useful exposure biomarker.     

Distribution of heavy metals in the water column, suspended particulate matters and the sediment under hydrodynamic conditions using an annular flume

Sediment resuspension plays an important role in the transport and fate of heavy metals in the aquatic environment. In the present study, the release and binding forms of Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb under hydrodynamic conditions were investigated using an annular flume. Two sediments located at YLZ and GBD from Liangshui River, Beijing were resuspended for 10 hr at 0.159 and 0.267 m/sec, respectively. The concentrations of suspended particulate matters of YLZ were higher than those of GBD during resuspension, indicating that the former sediment is more sensitive to the velocity. Cr in the dissolved phase stayed nearly constant at about 2.25 and 1.84 μg/L for YLZ and GBD, respectively, due to the high percentage of its stable binding fractions in both sediments, while Cu, Zn, and Pb showed a fast release in the initial period of time. However, their concentrations in SPM generally decreased with time and were higher at the lower velocity of 0.159 m/sec, which resulted from the entrainment and depressing effect of larger size particles with lower heavy metal content, commonly referred to as the "particle concentration effect". In addition, the binding form and heavy metal fractions were also found to vary during the resuspension event. A decrease in the sulphide/organic matters bounded form in GBD sediment was observed, whereas no visible changes were perceived in YLZ site samples. This phenomenon is due to the oxidation of heavy metal-sulphide binding forms, which originated from its high acid volatile sulphide content in GBD sediment.     

灵山风景区空气质量分析评价

随着灵山风景区旅游业的蓬勃发展,景区空气质量备受关注。根据灵山风景区景点的水平分布及高度落差,选取了11个具有代表性的采样点,从2010年3月至2011年1月进行空气质量连续监测。结果表明:灵山风景区的空气质量整体较好;焚香点的空气质量明显低于其他景点;客流量是影响景区空气质量的主要因素之一。在环境监测的基础上,采用改进的灰色聚类法对景区内各采样点进行空气质量评价,发现除百子戏弥勒、祥符禅寺、大佛3个采样点的空气质量为国家二级,其余采样点的空气质量均达到国家一级标准。辅以SPSS分析,发现空气质量等级与TSP、PM₁₀、PM_2.5浓度之间显著相关,说明颗粒物对空气质量等级的影响较之SO₂、NO₂更大。     

城市空气悬浮颗粒物时空变化规律及影响因素研究进展

对城市空气颗粒物的季节、日动态变化和空间分布规律作了综述,并探讨了人为活动、气象和特殊天气因素等对城市空气颗粒物水平的影响,最后提出目前关于城市空气悬浮颗粒物的研究中存在的问题及今后研究的发展方向。     

基于修正Gaussian Puff模型的飞机LTO循环PM2.5排放及扩散特性研究

为评估飞机细颗粒物(PM_2.5)排放对机场周边环境的影响,构建了飞机起飞着陆（LTO）循环排放及扩散特性评估模型.首先基于机载QAR数据中的空燃比、燃烧室入口温度等热力学参数,采用一阶近似-形成氧化法的耦合模型（FOA-FOX）对细颗粒物排放特性进行评估;然后建立飞机LTO循环坐标系,结合航空器运行特征对Gaussian Puff模型进行修正,将实时排放强度及气象数据作为输入源,计算LTO循环不同时刻下的扩散浓度分布,分析影响扩散浓度的因素;最后结合计算结果,对上海浦东国际机场进行污染物监测点的布局.结果表明：LTO循环的PM_2.5排放强度约为38.61～845.78 mg·s^-1,进近和起飞爬升阶段高于滑行阶段;进近后期、滑行阶段及起飞初期的扩散浓度对人群影响较大,下风向4000 m几乎不构成污染;风速增加、大气稳定度降低会不同程度地增大扩散速率.     

A new method of simultaneous determination of atmospheric amines in gaseous and particulate phases by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

As more attention is being paid to the characteristics of atmospheric amines, there is also an increasing demand for reliable detection technologies. Herein, a method was developed for simultaneous detection of atmospheric amines in both gaseous and particulate phases using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The amine samples were collected with and without phosphoric acid filters, followed by derivatization with benzenesulfonyl chloride under alkaline condition prior to GC-MS analysis. Furthermore, the method was optimized and validated for determining 14 standard amines. The detection limits ranged from 0.0408-0.421 µg/mL (for gaseous samples) and 0.163-1.69 µg/mL (for particulate samples), respectively. The obtained recoveries ranged from 68.8%-180% and the relative standard deviation was less than 30%, indicating high precision and good reliability of the method. Seven amines were simultaneously detected in gaseous and particulate samples in an industrial park using the developed method successfully. Methylamine, dimethylamine and diethylamine together accounted for 76.7% and 75.6% of particulate and gaseous samples, respectively. By comparing the measured and predicted values of gas-particle partition fractions, it was found that absorption process of aqueous phase played a more important role in the gas-partition of amines than physical adsorption. Moreover, the reaction between unprotonated amines and acid (aq.) in water phase likely promoted water absorption. Higher measured partition fraction of dibutylamine was likely due to the reaction with gaseous HCl. The developed method would help provide a deeper understanding of gas-particle partitioning as well as atmospheric evolution of amines.     

Significant contribution of secondary particulate matter to recurrent air pollution: Evidence from in situ observation in the most polluted city of Fen-Wei Plain of China

Particulate matter (PM) pollution in high emission regions will affect air quality, human health and climate change on both local and regional scales, and thus attract worldwide attention. In this study, a comprehensive study on PM_2.5 and its chemical composition were performed in Yuncheng (the most polluted city of Fen-Wei Plain of China) from November 28, 2020 to January 24, 2021. The average concentration of PM_2.5 was 87.8 ± 52.0 μg/m³, which were apparently lower than those observed during the same periods of past five years, attributable to the clean air action plan implemented in this region. NO₃⁻ and organic carbon (OC) were the dominant particulate components, which on average contributed 22.6% and 16.5% to PM_2.5, respectively. The fractions of NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺, OC and trace metals increased while those of crustal materials and elemental carbon decreased with the degradation of PM_2.5 pollution. Six types of PM_2.5 sources were identified by the PMF model, including secondary inorganic aerosol (35.3%), coal combustion (28.7%), vehicular emission (20.7%), electroplating industry (8.6%), smelt industry (3.9%) and dust (2.8%). Locations of each identified source were pinpointed based on conditional probability function, potential source contribution function and concentration weighted trajectory, which showed that the geographical distribution of the sources of PM_2.5 roughly agreed with the areas of high emission. Overall, this study provides valuable information on atmospheric pollution and deems beneficial for policymakers to take informed action to sustainably improve air quality in highly polluted region.