Chemical Composition Characteristics of PM2.5 in Three Cities in Henan, Central China

Abstract

The sites of Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and Pingdingshan in Henan, China were selected to investigate the chemical compositions of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ). A total of 165 PM 2.5 samples from the three sites were collected from October 2014 to July 2015. Water-soluble inorganic ions, elemental carbon and organic carbon, and other elements in PM 2.5 were analyzed by ion chromatography, carbon analyzer, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. Results showed that the annual average concentrations of PM 2.5 in the three sites were significantly higher than the Chinese national ambient air quality standard. The seasonal average of PM 2.5 concentration varied with the lowest concentrations of PM 2.5 in summer. Among these sites, the highest concentrations of SO 4 2-and NH 4 + ions were observed in Luoyang with the highest concentration of NO 3 -detected in Zhengzhou. SO 4 2-, NO 3 -and NH 4 + ions occurred as (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 and NH 4 NO 3 . For seasonal variation, the highest concentrations for Al, Fe and Ca were observed during spring in Pingdingshan and autumn in Zhengzhou and Luoyang, respectively. Enrichment factor (EF), as an indicator, is commonly used to evaluate the contribution of anthropogenic sources, and high EFs of Zn, Cu, and Cd in PM 2.5 indicate the extent of air pollution, which is generally caused by emissions of vehicles and industries. Risks posed by heavy metals on human health were assessed. The hazard index, which was used to assess the overall potential for noncarcinogenic effects, was higher than 1 in the three sites, indicating that V, Cr, As, Mn, Cd, Co, and Ni may cause accumulative noncarcinogenic health effects on humans, without the noncancer effect of each heavy metal significant. Cr in PM 2.5 is a potential carcinogenic risk when inhaled by adults. Overall, the results indicate that PM 2.5 pollution must be considered seriously in three cities.

Characteristics, sources, and reactions of nitrous acid during winter at an urban site in the Central Plains Economic Region in China

“…As the core city of CPER, Zhengzhou is characterized by severe PM (particulate matter) pollution (Jiang et al, 2017(Jiang et al, , 2018d and is thus selected for this study. In recent years, comprehensive PM research has been conducted on the chemical characteristics of PM in Zhengzhou (Jiang et al, 2018b; regarding source apportionment (Jiang et al, 2018c, e;Liu et al, 2019), health risks (Jiang et al, 2019a, b), and emission-source profiles (Dong et al, 2019;Jiang et al, 2018a). However, no study has been performed on the sources and characteristics of HONO in Zhengzhou.…”

Cytotoxicity Assessment of PM2.5 Collected from Specific Anthropogenic Activities in Taiwan

“…On the other hand, the use of salt for cooking in the night market also caused elevation of Na concentration in samples collected from this source. In traffic samples, high proportion of aluminum and calcium was the result of crustal dust which was commonly seen on the roads [36]. Iron, as a major exhaust emission from vehicle's break, also constituted almost 20% of metal element.…”

Molecular Characteristics and Formation Mechanisms of Biogenic Secondary Organic Aerosols in the Summer Atmosphere at Mt. Tai on the North China Plain

“…The daytime concentration and relative abundance of SO 4 2were larger than at night (Table 1 and Fig. 2), largely because the higher temperature and humidity in the daytime can promote the formation of SO 4 2from the oxidation of SO 2 in the aqueous phase (Fang et al, 2017;Jiang et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2017). In contrast, the smaller concentrations and relative abundances of NO 3and NH 4 + were observed during the daytime than during the nighttime (Table 1 and Fig.…”