Potential Source of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and OC and EC in Seoul During Spring 2016

Abstract

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM 2.5 were measured using Sunset OC/EC Field Analyzer at Seoul Hwangsa Monitoring Center from March to April, 2016. The mean concentrations of OC and EC during the entire period were 4.4 ± 2.0 μgC m −3 and 1.4 ± 0.6 μgC m −3 , respectively. OC/EC ratio was 3.4 ± 1.0. The average concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 were 57.4 ± 25.9 and 39.7 ± 19.8 μg m , respectively, which were detected by an optical particle counter. The OC and EC peaks were observed in the morning, which were impacted by vehicle emission, however, their diurnal variations were not noticeable. This is determined to be contributed by the long-range transported OC or secondary formation via photochemical reaction by volatile organic compounds at afternoon. A conditional probability function (CPF) model was used to identify the local source of pollution. High concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 were observed from the westerly wind, regardless of wind speed. When wind velocity was high, a mixing plume of dust and pollution during long-range transport from China in spring was observed. In contrast, pollution in low wind velocity was from local source, regardless of direction. To know the effect of long-range transport on pollution, a concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) model was analyzed based on a potential source contribution function (PSCF) model in which 75 percentiles high concentration was picked out for CWT analysis. PM 10 , PM 2.5 , OC, and EC were dominantly contributed from China in spring, and EC results were similar in both PSCF and CWT. In conclusion, Seoul air quality in spring was mainly affected by a mixture of local pollution and anthropogenic pollutants originated in China than the Asian dust.

Psychological Changes and Cancer Occurrence in Seoul Citizens Due to Changes in Fine Dust Concentration before Seoul Fine Dust Policy

“…Various results and indicators in a study of fine dust pollution from 2011 to 2015 were similar to the results of our study based on the economic indicators of the Seoul metropolitan area [14]. Other studies have found that monthly changes in the concentration of fine dust are related to the seasons; the concentrations increased in November, peaked in February, and then decreased gradually and reached their lowest levels in August and September [15,16].…”

Psychological Changes and Cancer Occurrence of Citizens Due to Changes in Concentration Before Seoul Fine Dust Policy

“…Various results and indicators in a study of fine dust pollution from 2011 to 2015 were similar to the results of our study based on the economic indicators of the Seoul metropolitan area [14]. Other studies have found that monthly changes in the concentration of fine dust were related to the seasons; the concentrations increased beginning in November, peaked in February, then decreased gradually and reached the lowest level in August and September [15,16].…”

Identification of Fine Dust in Schools through Comprehensive Chemical Characterization

“…Recently, there have been many studies to characterize chemical species of PM 2.5 nationwide in Korea such as a study of chemical characteristics of PM 2.5 in Seoul in 2019 (Um et al, 2020), a study of the origins and distributions of atmospheric ammonia in Jeonju during 2019-2020 (Park et al, 2020), a study on the characteristics of PM 2.5 chemical compositions and high-concentration episodes from 2013 to 2016 in Jeju (Kim et al, 2020), a study on PM 2.5 and its chemical compositions from 2017 to 2018 in Jeonju ( Jo et al, 2018), estimation of emission source contribution of OC and EC in the spring of 2016 in Seoul (Ham et al, 2017), and a study on the distribution of heavy metals during 2013 and 2014 in Gyeonggido (Kim et al, 2014).…”