A source study of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Shenzhen, South China (original) (raw)
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Journal of Geophysical Research, 2006
In a study conducted in late summer 2000, a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured throughout five target cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of south China. Twenty-eight nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs; 13 saturated, 9 unsaturated, and 6 aromatic) are discussed. The effect of rapid industrialization was studied for three categories of landuse in the PRD: industrial, industrial-urban, and industrial-suburban. The highest VOC mixing ratios were observed in industrial areas. Despite its relatively short atmospheric lifetime (2-3 days), toluene, which is largely emitted from industrial solvent use and vehicular emissions, was the most abundant NMHC quantified. Ethane, ethene, ethyne, propane, n-butane, i-pentane, benzene, and m-xylene were the next most abundant VOCs. Direct emissions from industrial activities were found to greatly impact the air quality in nearby neighborhoods. These emissions lead to large concentration variations for many VOCs in the five PRD study cities. Good correlations between isoprene and several short-lived combustion products were found in industrial areas, suggesting that in addition to biogenic sources, anthropogenic emissions may contribute to urban isoprene levels. This study provides a snapshot of industrial, industrial-urban, and industrial-suburban NMHCs in the five most industrially developed cities of the PRD. Increased impact of industrial activities on PRD air quality due to the rapid spread of industry from urban to suburban and rural areas, and the decrease of farmland, is expected to continue until effective emission standards are implemented.
Spatiotemporal characteristics and health effects of air pollutants in Shenzhen
In this study, spatiotemporal patterns and health effects in all-cause mortality of air pollutants (CO, NO 2 , and SO 2) during 2013 in Shenzhen were investigated. Spatiotemporal characteristics of air quality index (AQI) and air quality are also addressed. The results show that daily averages were 10.9 mg/m 3 for SO 2 , 39.6 mg/m 3 for NO 2 , and 1.2 mg/m 3 for CO. Daily AQI ranged from 24 to 179. There were approximately 39 days of air pollution in Shenzhen. NO 2 was the third major air pollutant. Monthly/hourly average AQI and concentrations of NO 2 and SO 2 in the city center area were higher than in tourist areas. Annual AQI and NO 2 concentration were higher in western parts of Shenzhen, whereas SO 2 was higher in eastern portions. The lowest CO concentration was in the Luohu District. Relative risks of mortality number increased with SO 2 /NO 2 levels. When SO 2 /NO 2 concentration changed, female individuals were more sensitive than male individuals, and people aged older than 65 years were more affected than younger people.
Atmospheric pollution and human health in a Chinese megacity (APHH-Beijing) programme: final report
2021
Policy suggestion 1. Focus on emission reductions (PM, VOC and BC) from outside central Beijing area. Policy suggestion 2. Monitor emission flux of air pollutants, including from aircraft platforms, to validate emission inventory and support decision making. 3. Multiple methods show consistently that road traffic is not a major source of primary particles, but does remain a significant source of NO x. Policy suggestion 3. Control NO x emissions from road traffic to reduce NO 2 but anticipate a limited benefit with respect to the associated primary PM 2.5 emissions. PM 1 <25 μg m-3 PM 1 >300 μg m-3 Image credit-Ben Langford, UKCEH Cover image-Ben Langford, UKCEH 4. China's clean energy transition from 1992-2012 resulted in very substantial reductions in the ambient PM 2.5 levels, however solid fuel combustion still contributed about 20% of the overall population weighted PM 2.5. 5. Personal exposure to poor air quality in the peri-urban area is much higher than in central Beijing, mainly due to residential coal combustion and biomass burning, with implications for inequalities in air pollution impacts. Policy suggestion 4. Prioritize the control of emissions from residential solid fuel combustion, for both heating and cooking, to reduce air pollution and personal exposure. 6. Ozone pollution is high in the summer, and levels have not improved in the past few years. Ozone pollution has the potential to worsen as future NO x and PM 2.5 controls are implemented, unless key VOC emissions are regulated. Aromatic VOCs from fuel evaporation, and alcohols, ketones and aldehydes from domestic and industrial solvent consumption, are the largest anthropogenic contributors to local ozone formation. Policy suggestion 5. Accelerate the control of VOCs in surrounding regions to mitigate ozone and PM 2.5 pollution, particularly aromatic VOCs from fuel evaporation and oxidised VOCs from domestic and industrial solvent consumption. 7. A new machine learning-based framework was developed to quantify the effects of clean air actions. The new method was applied to quantify the effects of Clean Air Actions in Beijing, and evaluated against traditional chemical transport modelling methods based on emissions inventories. The new framework also showed that the air quality benefits from the 2020 COVID lockdown were smaller than was observed or expected (and reported). Policy suggestion 6. Standardize machine learning techniques as an alternative tool to evaluate the effectiveness of clean air actions and for air quality management. 8. The ammonia emission flux is very high in the city centre, but does not seem to be dominated by traffic. Reduction of ammonia emissions has the potential to significantly reduce PM 2.5 mass concentrations. Policy suggestion 7. Control the emission of ammonia within the city after identifying its sources. 9. Commercial face masks offer potential personal protection from PM 2.5 pollution, but leakage can reduce their effectiveness. Air purifiers can effectively reduce indoor PM 2.5 levels and the impact of air pollution on health. 10. Increases in air pollution are associated with a deleterious mental health effects. Policy suggestion 8. Advocate personal protection measures, such as using face-masks and air purifiers, particularly by people with pre-existing conditions, the elderly and the young, during pollution events. Overall, APHH-Beijing significantly advanced understanding of air pollution in Beijing, supporting policy development which will provide widespread human health improvements across a significant population, particularly for the vulnerable people. APHH-Beijing outcomes will also support United Nations sustainable development goals including "Sustainable cities and communities", "Reduced inequality", "Good Health and Well-being", and "Affordable and Clean Energy". APHH-Beijing scientists have engaged with stakeholders from the beginning of the programme and delivered a policy brief to policymakers including from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Beijing Bureau of Ecology and Environment. Some of the APHH-Beijing research outcomes, such as the updated high resolution emission inventories and air pollutant emissions from residential sources, have already contributed to policymaking. The programme enhanced UK-China collaboration, facilitated training of the next generation of scientists, and left a legacy of enhanced scientific understanding and policy impact in China, the UK and beyond for the future.
Air pollution and control in different areas of China
Air pollution resulting from the combustion of fossil fuel is an environmental topic receiving global attention. In China, rapid economic development followed the economic reforms of 1978, especially during the two decades between 1978 and 1997. Meanwhile, serious air pollution problems were left outstanding. In recent decades, due to the various air pollution control measures adopted by the Chinese government, Chinese air quality has been ameliorated gradually. However, some research concerning air pollution indicates that it is still a serious problem in some regions of China. For example, the regions of north, northeast, and northwest China exhibit inhalable particles surpassing the Grade II standards of the Ambient Air Quality Standard generally, while acid rain is an environmental problem that has existed for a long time in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and parts of southwest China. Therefore, this review is organized according to the topographical characteristics of China. Typical cities are chosen to represent different regions, and the aspects of air pollution in these regions are discussed. The current state of air pollution, control measures, and effects of these control measures in these areas are introduced in this review.
Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rural and urban areas of northern China
Environmental Pollution, 2014
Air pollution in rural China has often been ignored, especially for the less developed west China. Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured monthly at 11 rural sites (5 rural villages and 6 rural fields) together with 7 urban stations in northern China between April 2010 and March 2011. PAH concentrations at rural village sites were similar to those in urban areas and significantly higher than those in rural fields, indicating severe contamination in rural villages. PAH concentrations in the west were similar to those in the more developed North China Plain, and higher than those along the coast. Such a geographical distribution is mainly caused by the differences in residential energy consumption and meteorological conditions, which can explain approximately 48% of the total variation in PAH concentrations. With heavy dependence on biofuel combustion for heating, seasonality in rural areas is more profound than that in urban areas.
Processes
The main objective of this study was to examine the chemical characteristics, possible sources, and health risks of fine particle-bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Baoshan area of Shanghai. Here, ambient particles with five-size ranges were collected during the spring and late summer of 2017. The PAHs were determined by the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Our results showed that the average mass concentration of 13 species of PAHs in spring and in late summer was 4.83 (1.88~12.1) ng/m3 and 4.27 (2.09~5.75) ng/m3 in Total Suspended Particles (TSPs), respectively. The higher PAH ratios (PM1.1/TSPs) indicated that PAHs are mainly concentrated in PM1.1, especially in late summer. The values of BaA/(BaA+CHR) were under 0.50 and IcdP/(IcdP+BghiP) were in range from 0.20 to 0.50 for TSP and PM1.1, suggesting that petroleum combustion and diesel emissions could be considered as key sources of PAHs, which tend to be associated with PM1.1. Moreover, the Princi...
Environmental science and pollution research international, 2015
Gas/particle distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in Xiamen from May 2009 to March 2010 to evaluate the impacts of urbanization on the fate of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmospheric environment. In a newly developing area (NDA), the concentrations of 16 PAHs (gas + particle) were significantly higher than that a historically urbanized area (HUA) (p value <0.05), while the trend of 28 PCBs was reversed. Diagnostic ratios and principle component analysis (PCA) implied that atmospheric PAHs in the NDA were mainly derived from petrogenic combustion, including mixed sources of vehicle emissions, biomass burning and oil combustion, while pyrogenic combustion (e.g., traffic and coal combustion) was considered the major source of PAHs in the HUA. Atmospheric PCBs in both HUA and NDA were dominated by TriCBs and PeCBs related to the use of commercial mixtures (Aroclors 1242 and 1254). Based on the toxi...
Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 2017
The atmospheric PM 2.5 , PM 2.5 /PM 10 , PCDD/Fs-WHO 2005-TEQ, and PCDD/F (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofuran) phase distributions of 23 cities in southern China, during 2014-2016, were investigated in this study. In general, the cities with higher latitudes had higher PM 2.5 concentrations than those with lower latitudes. During 2014-2016, the lowest three-year average concentrations of PM 2.5 occurred at Sanya and Haikou and were 16.4 and 21.7 µg m-3 , respectively; while the highest concentrations of PM 2.5 was occurred at Wuhan and Luzhou and were 68.8 and 63.1 µg m-3 , respectively. During 2015-2016, the PM 2.5 concentrations of most of cities decreased, but those of five cities (Chengdu, Luzhou, Nanchang, Qujing and Quanzhou) increased, indicting that the air quality of these five cities was still not well controlled. The average R M values of the 23 cities were 5.20, 4.49 and 4.13 in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively, which revealed that the PM 2.5 concentrations in the cities of southern China slowly decreased, although they were still far above the WHO air quality regulated standard (10 µg m-3). In general, a city with a higher PM 2.5 concentration was also had a higher PM 2.5 /PM 10 ratio. Among the 23 cities, the six highest three-year averages of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO 2005-TEQ concentrations were 0.0665, 0.0633, 0.0625, 0.0600, 0.0528 and 0.0526 pg-WHO 2005-TEQ m-3 in Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hefei, Luzhou and Hangzhou, respectively. During 2014, the six cities (Hefei, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guiyang, Shanghai and Chengdu) with the lowest temperatures in winter (an average of 5.4°C), their average particle phase fractions of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO 2005-TEQ that were approximately 76%, 53%, 71% and 93% in the spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively; while, the six cities (Haikou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Nanning, Nanchang and Changsha) with the highest temperatures in summer (an average of 16.5°C), had average particle phase fractions of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO 2005-TEQ that were approximately 61%, 42%, 57% and 81% in the spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively. The results of this study provide information showing the trends of both atmospheric PM 2.5 and PCDD/Fs in the cities of southern China. In addition, this study provided the overview relating to the PM 2.5 and PCDD/Fs in ambient air of southern China, which was not reported in previous studies. The results of this study were of great importance to present the trends of air quality in China. It is also useful for the establishment of control strategies in the future.
Atmospheric Environment, 2011
In this study, concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with PM 10 were measured to examine the status, characteristics and sources of atmospheric PAH pollution in the industrial Northeast Region of China. Mean concentrations of total PAHs were 65.5, 40.0, 73.0 and 436.7 ng m À3 in the four seasons respectively. The calculated BaPeq concentrations in winter all exceeded the national standard, imposing serious PAH exposure risk. PAH concentrations varied between the cities, but PAH concentrations in different functional areas within a city did not show significant difference. In general, particulate PAH profiles were dominated by 4-and 5-ring compounds. Elevated proportions of 3-ring PAHs and 5-ring PAHs were found in winter and in summer respectively. Diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to identify potential sources of PAHs. Coal combustion activities were the main contributors of particle-associated PAHs in this region.