Pollution Levels for Airborne Hexavalent Chromium of PM2.5 in Typical Cities of China

Abstract

As a carcinogenic pollutant, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in the ambient air has serious influences on public health. Due to its instability and difficulty in chemical analysis, few studies have been conducted on the regional concentration level of environmental Cr(VI), especially in China. The pollution levels of Cr(VI) in ambient PM2.5 were determined in two sampling sites of Beijing and Qingdao from September to December 2020. The concentrations of Cr(VI) were determined using Ion Chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(IC-ICP-MS), and the Cr concentrations were simultaneously analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-atomic emission spectrometry(ICP-AES). The main results are as follows: (1) Based on the analysis of samples collected at the sampling sites of Beijing and Qingdao, the concentrations of Cr(VI) in PM2.5 were (0.140 ± 0.065) ng/m3 and (0.091 ± 0.073) ng/m3, respectively; (2) During the sampling period, the mean ratio of Cr(VI) to Cr was (0.0623 ± 0.0969). The ratio of Cr(VI)/Cr in Beijing and Qingdao were 0.076 ± 0.104 and 0.041 ± 0.039, respectively. In conclusion, compared with other countries, the concentration of Cr(VI) at the sampling sites of Beijing and Qingdao showed lower values. The average concentration of Cr(VI) estimated by the ratio of this research in China is lower than that in South Korea and similar to those in Canada and Australia.