Particle-bound PAHs and Chemical Composition, Sources and Health Risk of PM2.5 in a Highly Industrialized Area

Abstract

PM2.5 monitoring campaigns were conducted in 2006, 2010, and 2011 in Tula de Hidalgo, Mexico, a highly industrialized area which includes a refinery, a thermoelectric power plant, five cement plants, limestone mining, and industrial waste combustion. These data establish baselines and trends against which later concentrations can be compared as emission reduction plans are implemented. PM 2.5 mass, chemical composition, and 15 particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured at two sites. PM2.5 masses ranged from 26 to 31 µg m −3 . Carbonaceous aerosols were the largest PM2.5 component, accounting for 47-57% of the mass. Approximately 40-51% of the carbonaceous aerosol was attributed to secondary organic carbon. Ionic species accounted for 40-44% of PM2.5, with sulfate being the dominant ion. The sum of particle-bound PAH concentrations ranged from 14−31 ng m −3 . Six factors derived from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) explained ~ 85% of the PM2.5 variance. The derived factors were associated with sources based on marker species resulting in heavy-oil combustion (22% of variance), vehicle engine exhaust (13-19% of variance), fugitive dust (18% of variance), biomass burning (9-13% of variance), secondary aerosols (14% of variance), and industrial emissions (6-10% of variance). Combustion of solid waste (e.g., tires and industrial waste) of the recycling cement kilns and incinerators resulted in elevated toxic species such as, Cd, and Sb in the range of 0.02-0.3 µg m −3 .A health risk assessment of carcinogenic trace elements was performed showing that the total cancer risk decreased for both children and adults in 2010/2011 (ranging from 3.5×10 −6 to 6.0×10 −5 ) as compared to 2006 (ranging from 8.6×10 −7 to 5.7×10 −6 ). The inhalation life-time cancer risk (ILCR) for particle-bound PAHs ranged from 8.6×10 −5 to 1.2×10 −4 .Air quality can be improved by switching to cleaner fuels and benefit from the use of natural gas instead of fuel oil in the power plant.

PM2.5 Characterization and Source Apportionment Using Positive Matrix Factorization at San Luis Potosi City, Mexico, during the Years 2017–2018

“…However, for this semi-urban site, the factor used in agreement with the literature was 1.6 [40]. For the year 2017, the POM concentration average was 17.2 µg m −3 plus 1.9 µg m −3 due to EC, adding up to 60% of the total contribution to PM 2.5 , which is consistent with this type of semi-rural locations, for example, Tepeji and Jaso, Hidalgo, reported by Vega et al [41]. Nevertheless, a difference in concentrations between the seasons of the sampling year could not be distinguished.…”

Urban Air Pollution and Greenness in Relation to Public Health

“…Despite various socioeconomic benefits, urban air pollution is related to adverse health effects, mainly due to increased exposure to air pollution [ 60 ]. Environmental aspects provide a significant role in increasing the global incidence of respiratory diseases perceived in recent decades [ 61 , 62 ]. In particular, asthma and nasal conjunctivitis mostly contribute to the global issue of diseases, with a world urban health incidence of schoolchildren of 5–20% and 0.8–39.7%, respectively [ 63 , 64 ].…”

Do the Street Sweeping and Washing Work for Reducing the Near-ground Levels of Fine Particulate Matter and Related Pollutants?

“…on air quality and human health. Traffic-related pollutants, such as black carbon (BC) and ultrafine particles (UFP, particles with diameters < 100 nm) are indicated to have hazardous trace organic/inorganic compositions in previous studies (Krylow and Generowicz, 2019) The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are also one group of the carcinogens in the street dust that can enter the human body through respiratory system, threatening human health (Vega et al, 2021;Pinthong et al, 2022). To find out whether street washing is helpful for controlling soil dust, X road and Y road were chosen as the sampling streets, with and without drainage ditch, street sweeping only, sweeping before washing and washing before sweeping are set as the control groups while the concentration of PM2.5 upwind and downwind were measured as well.…”