Study of chemical characteristics of particulate matter concentrations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Alharbi, Badr; Shareef, Mohammed M.; Husain, Tahir

doi:10.5094/apr.2015.011

Cited by 54 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…As measures to regulate air pollutants are inadequate, poor urban air quality remains a problem in Saudi Arabia's major cities (Alharbi et al, 2015 andNayebare et al, 2016). Saudi Arabia's macroclimate is naturally semi-arid to arid, thereby leading to persistent pollutants over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne Carcinogenic Trace Elements Distribution Associated with Long Term Exposure in Makkah Population

Adly¹,

Saleh²,

Saati³

et al. 2019

TOECOLJ

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Background:More than 4 million international pilgrims visit Makkah each year during the Hajj and Umrah seasons. Since trace elements are natural ingredients that endure general biogeochemical cycling, conversion functions between environmental loadings, mass levels, and exposed receptors. Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the distribution of carcinogenic trace element levels related to long term exposure. Methods:Particulate Matter (PM10) sampling was conducted at six locations (Al-Haram, Arafat, Muzdalifah, Aziziyah, Al Nuzhah, and Al Awali). On-site measurement parameters included ambient temperature, wind speed, and direction over 37 weeks. Samples were investigated for Cd, Cr, As, Be, and Ni levels with inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Quality assurance measures were achieved separately by analyzing a control sample to certify reliability, reproducibility, and linearity for each analysis. Results:Average particulate matter concentration for a one-year period presented significant variability, which exceeded the WHO guidelines for average exposure (25.0 µgm -3 ). PM10 average concentrations during round-1 (Spring), round-2 (Summer), round-3 (Autumn) and round-4 (Winter) were 120.1 ± 52.2 µgm -3 , 223.4 ± 30.4 µgm -3 , 77.6 ± 36.72, and 89 ± 62.7 µgm -3 , respectively. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, As, Be, and Ni were found to be 0.098, 0.008, 0.26, 0.03, and 0.012 µgm -3 , respectively. Conclusion:PM10 concentration was highly correlated (p-value <0.005) with Cd, Cr, As, Be, and Ni; thereby indicating the influence of manufacturing discharges and pollutants transported over long-distances. Higher ambient air temperatures may cause atmospheric instability in low air dispersion around Makkah. This highlights the importance of continuous air monitoring and calculation of dose exposure levels of both PM10 and trace elements.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne Carcinogenic Trace Elements Distribution Associated with Long Term Exposure in Makkah Population

Adly¹,

Saleh²,

Saati³

et al. 2019

TOECOLJ

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“…A detailed description of the PM 10 sample collection and elemental analysis methodologies can be found in Alharbi et al (2015). In brief, sampling was conducted from the same mobile platform and concurrent with the OC / EC sampling.…”

Section: Sampling Sites and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of PM<sub>2.5</sub> carbonaceous aerosol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Knowledge of the sources of carbonaceous aerosol affecting air quality in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is limited but needed for the development of pollution control strategies. We conducted sampling of PM 2.5 from April to September 2012 at various sites in the city and used a thermo-optical semi-continuous method to quantify the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations. The average OC and EC concentrations were 4.7 ± 4.4 and 2.1 ± 2.5 µg m −3 , respectively, during this period. Both OC and EC concentrations had strong diurnal variations, with peaks at 06:00-08:00 LT and 20:00-22:00 LT, attributed to the combined effect of increased vehicle emissions during rush hour and the shallow boundary layer in the early morning and at night. This finding suggested a significant influence of local vehicular emissions on OC and EC. The OC / EC ratio in primary emissions was estimated to be 1.01, close to documented values for diesel emissions. Estimated primary organic carbon (POC) and secondary organic carbon (SOC) concentrations were comparable, with average concentrations of 2.0 ± 2.4 and 2.8 ± 3.4 µg m −3 , respectively.We also collected 24 h samples of PM 10 onto quartz microfiber filters and analyzed these for an array of metals by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Total OC was correlated with Ca (R 2 of 0.63), suggesting that OC precursors and Ca may have similar sources, and the possibility that they underwent similar atmospheric processing. In addition to a ubiquitous dust source, Ca is emitted during desalting processes in the numerous refineries in the region and from cement kilns, suggesting these sources may also contribute to observed OC concentrations in Riyadh. Concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis showed that high OC and EC concentrations were associated with air masses arriving from the Persian Gulf and the region around Baghdad, locations with high densities of oil fields and refineries as well as a large Saudi Arabian cement plant. We further applied positive matrix factorization to the aligned dataset of EC, OC, and metal concentrations (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and V). Three factors were derived and were proposed to be associated with oil combustion, industrial emissions (Pb based), and a combined source from oil fields, cement production, and local vehicular emissions. The dominant OC and EC source was the combined source, contributing 3.9 µg m −3 (80 %) to observed OC and 1.9 µg m −3 (92 %) to observed EC.

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“…Hussein et al [17] carried out a study, in Jeddah's urban atmosphere, on the concentration of particles heavier than one-quarter of a micron and particulate matter, during the year 2012. An investigation by Alharbi et al [16] showed that the chemical characteristics of PM concentration in Saudi Arabia capital, Riyadh, during weekdays were 17% higher compared to weekends during the period between September 2011 and September 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies investigated PM categorization over the Arabian Peninsula and the Mideastern region using airborne and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) ground observations [2,3,16]; however ground observations are very limited due to the existence of only two AERONET stations in Saudi Arabia, namely, the Solar Village (24 ∘ N, 46 ∘ E) and KACST (22 ∘ N, 39 ∘ E). Hussein et al [17] carried out a study, in Jeddah's urban atmosphere, on the concentration of particles heavier than one-quarter of a micron and particulate matter, during the year 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and Chemical Properties of Particulate Matter in the Dammam Metropolitan Region: Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Tawabini

Lawal

Shaibani

et al. 2017

Advances in Meteorology

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Characteristics of airborne particulate matter (PM) as well as its levels in air samples collected from selected sites within cities of Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, are investigated. Concentration levels of the 10 microns' PM (i.e., PM 10 ) are determined using the gravimetric technique. Morphological and chemical characteristics of the PM collected from the sampling cities are studied using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Moreover, levels and types of hazardous materials related to these samples are assessed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Results revealed that the average concentration levels of PM 10 were approximately 177, 380, and 126 g/m 3 in Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, respectively. The structure of PM collected in Dhahran was mainly platy and rod-like shaped with a size between 2 and 6 m, while PM collected in Khobar was mostly irregular in form, with a size range between 2 and 8 m, and Dammam's PM was rounded and between 1 and 3 m in size. Both EDX and XRF results indicate relatively high weight % of C, O, Si, F, and Ca with lower weight % of Na, Mg, and K at the 3 cities. Finally, the study shows that Ba and Zn were the main trace metals associated with the collected PM in the 3 cities.

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Study of chemical characteristics of particulate matter concentrations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Cited by 54 publications

References 47 publications

Airborne Carcinogenic Trace Elements Distribution Associated with Long Term Exposure in Makkah Population

Airborne Carcinogenic Trace Elements Distribution Associated with Long Term Exposure in Makkah Population

Sources of PM<sub>2.5</sub> carbonaceous aerosol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Morphological and Chemical Properties of Particulate Matter in the Dammam Metropolitan Region: Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, Saudi Arabia

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Study of chemical characteristics of particulate matter concentrations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Cited by 54 publications

References 47 publications

Airborne Carcinogenic Trace Elements Distribution Associated with Long Term Exposure in Makkah Population

Airborne Carcinogenic Trace Elements Distribution Associated with Long Term Exposure in Makkah Population

Sources of PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt; carbonaceous aerosol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Morphological and Chemical Properties of Particulate Matter in the Dammam Metropolitan Region: Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, Saudi Arabia

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Sources of PM<sub>2.5</sub> carbonaceous aerosol in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia