This study investigated the seasonal variation and spatial distribution of total gaseous mercury (TGM) and particulate mercury (Hg p ) in the ambient atmosphere of Kaohsiung City, the largest industrial city in Taiwan, located at the coastal region of southern Taiwan. TGM and Hg p were measured at six sensitivity sites and one coastal background site, from June to December, 2010. Field measurement results showed that the seasonal averaged concentrations of TGM and Hg p were in the range of 2.38-9.41 and 0.02-0.59 ng/m 3 with the highest concentrations of 9.41 and 0.59 ng/m 3 , respectively. Moreover, the partition of atmospheric mercury was found to be 92.71-99.17% TGM and 0.83-7.29% Hg p . As a whole, the concentrations of mercury species in the dry season were higher than those in the wet season, for both TGM or Hg p concentrations. The TGM and Hg p concentrations at the Hsiao-kang site was the highest in Kaohsiung City. Hot spots of atmospheric mercury were found at two regions in Kaohsiung City, including a steel industrial complex in the south and a petrochemical industrial complex in the north. The correlation of atmospheric mercury with meteorological parameters (e.g., ambient temperature, relative humidity, and UV intensity) and air pollutants (e.g., CO, SO 2 , NO x , and O 3 ) was further discussed. The results indicated that TGM and Hg p concentrations correlated positively with SO 2 , NO x , CO, ambient temperature, and UV B , and negatively with relative humidity, O 3 , and wind speed.

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This study investigated the seasonal variation and spatial distribution of gaseous and particulate mercury at a unique mercury-contaminated remediation site located at the near-coastal region of Tainan City, Taiwan. Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), particulate mercury (PTM), and dustfall mercury (DFM) were measured at six nearby sites from November 2009 to September 2010. A newly issued Method for Sampling and Analyzing Mercury in Air (National Institute of Environmental Analysis [NIEA] Method A304.10C) translated from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method IO-5, was applied for the measurement of atmospheric mercury in this particular study. One-year field measurements showed that the seasonal averaged concentrations of GEM and PTM were in the range of 5.56-12.60 and 0.06-0.22 ng/m 3 , respectively, whereas the seasonal averaged deposition fluxes of DFM were in the range of 27.0-56.8 g/km 2 -month. The maximum concentrations of GEM and PTM were 38.95 and 0.58 ng/m 3 , respectively. The atmospheric mercury apportioned as 97.42-99.87% GEM and 0.13-2.58% PTM. As a whole, the concentrations of mercury species were higher in the springtime and summertime than those in the wintertime and fall. The southern winds generally brought higher mercury concentrations, whereas the northern winds brought relatively lower mercury concentrations, to the nearby fishing villages. This study revealed that the mercury-contaminated remediation site, an abandoned chlor-alkali manufacturing plant, was the major mercury emission source that caused severe atmospheric mercury contamination over the investigation region. The hot spot of mercury emissions was allocated at the southern tip of the abandoned chlor-alkali manufacturing plant. On-site continuous monitoring of GEM at the mercurycontaminated remediation site observed that GEM concentrations during the open excavation period were 2-3 times higher than those during the nonexcavation period.

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