First long-term and near real-time measurement of atmospheric trace elements in Shanghai, China

Abstract

Atmospheric trace elements, especially metal species, are an emerging environmental and health concern with poorly constrained on its abundances and sources in Shanghai, the most important industrial megacity in China. Here we 20 continuously performed a one-year (from March 2016 to February 2017) and hourlyresolved measurement of eighteen elements in fine particles (PM2.5) at Shanghai urban center with a Xact multi-metals monitor and several collocated instruments.Independent ICP-MS offline analysis of filter samples was used to validate the performance of Xact that was based on energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis Ni were confirmed as the prominent and exclusive tracer of heavy oil combustion from shipping traffic. Fe and Ba were strongly related to brake wear, and exhibited significant 45 correlation with Si and Ca, suggesting that Si and Ca in Shanghai were primarily sourced from road fugitive dust rather than long-distance dust transport and local building construction sites. Stationary combustion of coal was found to be the major source of As, Se, Pb, Cu and K, and the ratio of As/Se was used to infer that coal consumed in Shanghai likely originated from Henan coal fields in Northern China. Cr, 50Mn and Zn were the mixed result of emissions from stationary combustion coal, ferrous metals production, and nonferrous metals processing. Ag and Cd in Shanghai urban atmosphere were also the mixture of miscellaneous sources. Collectively, our findings in this study provide baseline data with high detail, which are needed for developing effective control strategies to reduce the high risk of acute exposure to atmospheric 55 trace elements in China's megacities.Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi

Exploring the cause of PM2.5 pollution episodes in a cold metropolis in China

“…V is usually used as an additive in lubricating oil and enters the atmosphere through tailpipe emissions. Cu, Mn, Ga, Ti, and Cr are used in catalytic converters, tire manufacturing, and brake linings, and Ba, Cs, Rb and Fe are mainly contained in fugitive dust (Han et al, 2017;Chang et al, 2017;Lin et al, 2015), The normalized concentration of this factor fluctuated stably and was consistent with the vehicle pollution characteristics. The fourth factor was characterized by high proportions of EC, SO 4 2À , As, Pb, Co, Ga, Ag, Sn, Sb, Tl, and Zn, and was consistent with the emission features of coal combustion.…”

“…The total concentration of the analyzed inorganic elements was 2.59 mg/m 3 , which was only 1.58% of the total PM 2.5 mass concentration. These elements constitute a minor fraction, but are important tracers in atmospheric environments (Chang et al, 2017). The concentration of Fe was highest among all trace metals, with a proportion of 32.23%, and its concentration was highest in spring, manifesting great contributions from crustal dust.…”