Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of Atmospheric Particles Across Multiple Sampling Locations in Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Atmospheric particles (total suspended particles, TSPs) mass samples (288) were collected by high volume samplers at nine sampling locations in Faisalabad, Pakistan from May 2012 to April 2013. These TSP mass samples were subjected to gravimetric and quantitative chemical analyses for determining trace elements (Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn, Cu, Fe) using atomic absorption spectroscopy and water-soluble cations (Ca 2þ , Mg 2þ , Na þ and K þ , NH 4 þ ) and anions (Cl À , SO 4 2À , and NO 3 À ) by ion chromatography. The average TSP mass and elemental concentrations at all locations were found to be highest during the dry and lowest during the wet season. The crustal elements Ca, Fe, Mg, and Na were the largest contributors to TSP mass while elements of anthropogenic origin Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Zn had relatively lower concentrations and also showing a high spatial variation. The concentration of TSP and elements exhibited the maxima at the sampling locations characterized by intensive industrial and vehicular activities. The wind rose analysis and the UNMIX model applied to chemical speciation data both identified the same three primary sources of TSP: power plant/refinery, brick kilns, and roadways. The normalized dot product was successfully used to quantify the similarity between different source profiles extracted from UNMIX model. The coupling of UNMIX with wind direction analysis complemented each other and provided a complete assessment of source contributions and locations.

Characterizing of Air Pollution in Tehran: Comparison of Two Air Quality Indices

“…Over 50 years, air pollution and its impact on human health are a concern for the World Health Organization (WHO). For this reason guideline with the aim to protect public health from the adverse effects of air pollutants has developed [1,2].…”

Spatial, temporal and size distribution of particulate matter and its chemical constituents in Faisalabad, Pakistan

“…Similarly, ions like SO 4 2-, NO 3 -and NH 4 + are strongly correlated, indicating their common origin as secondary particle compounds in the atmosphere (Shen et al, 2007(Shen et al, , 2009Cheung et al, 2011). Noted irregular and inconsistent correlation patterns suggested that these elements possibly originate from several sporadic local sources that are described and applied in a companion paper (Javed et al, 2015).…”

“…High PM mass concentrations at SL4 (a rural site) were possibly due to combustion of low quality fuel currently being used in two brick kilns located at this sampling location. Low quality coal, wood, used rubber tires and waste oil are mostly used for fuel in these kilns located within the study area (Javed et al, 2015). On the contrary, the lowest PM concentration was recorded at a remote rural site (SL9) because the sorrounding area (up to 15 km 2 ) had no vehicular and industrial activities throughout the sampling period.…”

Traffic ‐and Industry‐Related Air Pollution Exposure Assessment in an Asian Megacity

“…[74,75] The information about ionic profile is not only important for source apportionment studies but also understanding of tropospheric chemistry. For this purpose, Javed et al [45] determined the fraction of water-soluble cations and anions in the particulate samples collected in Faisalabad from May 2012 to , respectively. These concentrations appeared due to the dust re-suspensions at rapid wind speeds.…”

“…[72] PAHs were mainly produced from partial combustion of oil and coal, [49] whereas ions were assumed to originate from coal, biomass, waste burning, and earth crust. [45,52] …”