In the present study, we measured fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) on the daily route of our study participant in order to determine her exposure and dose of PM 2.5 in every microenvironment (ME). The measuring instrument, created by Nagoya University and Panasonic Corporation, Japan, was carried close to the breathing zone most of the time. Each data point was collected for 10-30 s or 2-6 cycles/min for 24 h from 1 October 2018 to 30 December 2018. Public transportation showed the highest level of PM 2.5 compared with other MEs, including residence apartments, houses (ger district), the National University of Mongolia (NUM), food courts or restaurants, and other indoor locations. The personal daily average exposure to PM 2.5 was 35 µg/m 3 on 4 November 2018; on the other hand, this value was evaluated as the highest level of exposure compared to other measurement days. Interestingly, the study participant's exposure and dose of PM 2.5 was lower than those stated in the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines, with 25 µg/m 3 from 4:00 to 7:00. country as a whole was between 80-140 µg/m 3 [14]. Additionally, diseases such as pneumoconiosis (approximately 130 cases per year) and adult cardiovascular diseases (approximately 1440 cases per year) that are caused by PM 2.5 (70 µg/m 3 , the annual mean exposure) are the major morbidity causes for UB's population, with an increasing rate over the years [15].Determining the individual exposure and dose of PM 2.5 is also important for human health problems. There is a high correlation between indoor and outdoor locations and individual exposure [16][17][18][19]. Individual exposure is defined by the PM 2.5 concentration of indoor or outdoor locations and personal activities, such as cooking, cleaning, and smoking, as well as the time spent by the person in the environment [20,21]. One of the methods used to evaluate the exposure is a measuring monitor or sensor worn by a person (the monitor or sensor has to be as close as possible to the person's breathing zone [22][23][24]) in order to identify the interface between outdoor locations or various microenvironments (closed spaces, such as buildings, means of transportation, and other indoor locations [25]) and the body. The dose, depending on a human's breathing speed, is the amount of the pollutant that actually crosses one of the body's boundaries and reaches the target tissue [26].In Mongolia, this kind of study has not been conducted before. However, researchers from other countries, for example, Steinle (2012), have conducted studies in this research field. Their results showed that a total of 17 volunteers collected 35 profiles, which covered a range of activities to highlight the variability of individual exposures between November 2012 and May 2013 in Scotland. They measured particulate matter by The Dylos, and combined these data with those from a GPS track stick at a private residential building with a PM 2.5 concentration of 10.20 µg/m 3 , which was higher than in other places [27]. Broich (2010) e...
In this study, we have focused on the outdoor concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during the coldest months (November-February) of 2016-2019 and January-February of 2020 and illustrated the daily, monthly and quarterly averages according to the single-point measurement data collected by the PM2.5 sensor at an air quality monitoring station located in a central area of Ulaanbaatar. The study also analyzes monthly high, low, average and median points of PM2.5 concentrations in the area that was selected. The PM2.5 sensor collects its data at an interval of every ten seconds, registers 8500 data in one day and presents the concentration of fine particulate matter in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). On the basis of data collection and analysis, from November through February of 2019-2020, average PM2.5 concentration dropped noticeably by 44 per cent compared to the previous years. The Government of Mongolia took immediate action to combat air pollution of Ulaanbaatar city in May 2019 by banning the burning of raw coal in the ger districts, which account for 70 per cent of the city’s emissions, and introduced coal briquette as the only type of fuel that was allowed to be burned in metal stoves as a primary source of heating and cooking. Our study reveals that the latest government regulation had a considerable impact on air quality during winter 2019-2020 and helped in the sudden decline of the most dangerous pollutant PM2.5 concentration very close to national standards (50 µg/m3 24-hour mean) within 6 months since the enforcement of the new regulation.
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