Size Distributions and Elemental Compositions of Particulate Matter on Clear,Hazy and Foggy days in Beijing,China

Total suspended particulates （TSP） samples were collected using low pressure impactors （Andersen Series 20-800, USA） on typical clear, hazy and foggy days in Beijing in order to investigate the characteristics of size distributions and elemental compositions of particulate matter （PM） in different weather conditions. The concentrations of sixteen elements, including Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, Ba, T1 and Pb were detected using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （ICP-MS）. The results showed that Ca, A1, Fe, Mg and Ba on foggy days were 2.0 2.6 times higher than on clear days, and 2.3-2.9 times higher than on hazy days. Concentrations of Cu, Zn, As, Se and Pb on foggy days were 163.5, 1186.7, 65.9, 32.0 and 708.2 ng m-3, respectively, in fine particles, and 68.1, 289.5, 19.8, 1.6 and 103.8 ng m-3, respectively, in coarse particles. This was 1.0~8.4 times higher and 1.4-7.4 times higher than on clear and hazy days, respectively. It is then shown that Mg, A1, Fe, Ca and Ba were mainly associated with coarse particles, peaking at 4.7~5.8 μm; that Cd, Se, Zn, As, T1 and Pb were most dominant in fine particles, peaking at 0.43-1.1 μm; and that Na, K, Ni, Cu and Mn had a multi-mode distribution, with peaks at 0.43-1.1 μm and 4.7-5.8 μm. The enrichment factors indicated that coal combustion along with vehicle and industry emissions may be the main sources of pollution elements.

Concentration and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalic acid esters in the surface water of the Yangtze River Delta,China

The pollution from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons（PAHs） and phthalic acid esters（PAEs） in the surface water of the rapidly urbanized Yangtze River Delta region was investigated.Fourteen surface water samples were collected in June 2010.Water samples were liquid-liquid extracted using methylene chloride and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Concentrations of PAHs and PAEs ranged 12.9-638.1 ng/L and 61-28550 ng/L,respectively.Fluoranthene,naphthalene,pyrene,phenanthrene,di-2ethylhexyl phthalate,and di-n-butyl phthalate were the most abundant compounds in the samples.The water samples were moderately polluted with benzo[a]pyrene according to China＇s environmental quality standard for surface water.The two highest concentrations of PAHs and PAEs occurred in samples from Taihu Lake,Wuxi City and the western section of Yangchenghu Lake.Potential sources of pollution at S7 were petroleum combustion and the plastics industry,and at Yangchenghu Lake were petroleum combustion and domestic waste.Pollution in samples from the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal originated from diesel engines.There were no obvious sources of pollution for the other water samples.These results can be used as reference levels for future monitoring programs of pollution from PAHs and PAEs.

Seasonal variations and size distributions of water-soluble ions in atmospheric aerosols in Beijing, 2012

The characteristics of water-soluble ions in airborne particulate matter in Beijing were investigated using ion chromatography. The results showed that the total concentrations of ions were 83.7 ± 48.9 μg/m3 in spring, 54.0 ± 17.0 μg/m3 in summer, 54.1 ± 42.9 μg/m3 in autumn, and 88.8 ± 47.7 μg/m3 in winter, respectively. Furthermore, out of all the ions, NO3-,SO42-and NH4＋accounted for 81.2% in spring, 78.5% in summer, 74.6% in autumn, and 76.3%in winter. Mg2＋and Ca2＋were mainly associated with coarse particles, with a peak that ranged from 5.8 to 9.0 μm. Na＋, NH4＋and Cl-had a multi-mode distribution with peaks that ranged from 0.43 to 1.1 μm and 4.7 to 9.0 μm. K＋, NO3-, and SO42-were mainly associated with fine particles, with a peak that ranged from 0.65 to 2.1 μm. The concentrations of Na＋, K＋,Mg2＋, Ca2＋, NH4＋, Cl-, NO3-and SO42-were 2.69, 2.32, 1.01, 4.84, 16.9, 11.8, 42.0, and 44.1 μg/m3 in particulate matter（PM） on foggy days, respectively, which were 1.4 to 7.3 times higher than those on clear days. The concentrations of these ions were 2.40, 1.66, 0.92, 4.95, 17.5,7.00, 32.6, and 34.7 μg/m3 in PM on hazy days, respectively, which were 1.2–5.7 times higher than those on clear days.

Size-resolved aerosol water-soluble ions at a regional background station of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, North China

The characteristics of water-soluble ions in size-resolved particulate matter were investigated usingion chromatography at Shangdianzi, a regional background station of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Seasonal total concentrations of ions （Na＋, Mg2＋, IC, Ca2＋, NH＋4, Cl-, SO2-4 and NO-3） were 75.5 ± 52.9 μg/m3 in spring, 26.5 ± 12.3 Bg/m3 in summer, 22.7 ± 20.4 μg/m3 in autumn, and 31.1 ± 23.9 μg/m3 in winter, respectively. The secondary ions （NO3, SO2-4 and NH＋4）, mainly associated with fine particles, accounted for 84.2% in spring, 82.1% in summer, 81.5% in autumn and 76.3% in winter of all ions. Strong correlations were found between NH＋4 and SO2-4 （r = 0.95, p 〈 0.01） as well as NH＋4 and NO-3 （r = 0.90, p 〈 0.01） in fine particles; while in coarse particles, correlations between Mg2＋ and NO-3 （r = 0.80, p 〈 0.01）, and Ca2＋ and NO2＋ （r = 0.85, p 〈 0.01） were found. The concentrations of Na＋, IC, Mg2＋, Ca2＋, NH＋4, Cl-, NO3, and SC2-4 were 2.02, 0.81, 0.36, 1.65, 9.58, 4.01, 18.9, and 18.4 μg/m3 in particulate matter from southeast-derived air masses, which were typically 1.58-3.37 times higher than in northwest trajectories. Thus, concentrations of water-soluble ions at this background station were heavily influenced by regional transport of serious pollution derived from biomass burning, coal combustion, industrial and vehicle exhaust emissions from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations, compositions, sources, and associated carcinogenic risks to humans in farmland soils and riverine sediments from Guiyu, China

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） were measured in 23 farmland soil samples and 10 riverine sediment samples from Guiyu, China, and the carcinogenic risks associated with PAHs in the samples were evaluated. Guiyu is the largest electronic waste （EW） dismantling area globally, and has been well known for the primitive and crude manner in which EWs are disposed, such as by open burning and roasting. The total PAH concentrations were 56-567 ng/g in the soils and 181-3034 ng/g in the sediments. The Shanglian and Huamei districts were found to be more contaminated with PAHs than the north of Guiyu. The soils were relatively weakly contaminated but the sediments were more contaminated, and sediments in some river sections might cause carcinogenic risks to the groundwater system. The PAHs in the soils were derived from combustion sources, but the PAHs in the sediments were derived from both combustion and petroleum sources.

Level and characteristics of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in feed and feed additives

Feed security is a prerequisite for safe animal food products.In this study,13 groups of feed and feed ingredients,totaling 2067 samples,were collected in the period of 2011 to 2014 from China.The highest mean level of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans（PCDD/Fs） was found in fish meals and shell powders,with a concentration of 60.35 ng/kg,followed by mineral origin materials.In terms of the toxicity equivalent concentration,the fish oil group showed the highest PCDD/F levels because of their bio-accumulation through the aquatic food chain,with an average concentration of 1.26 ng WHO-TEQ/kg,while the lowest level was observed in compound feed for chickens and pigs,with an average value of0.16 ng WHO-TEQ/kg.OCDD and OCDF were the predominant congeners in all groups except fish oils,in which the primary congeners were 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and 2,3,7,8-TCDF.For zinc chloride samples,different from other zinc-based compound samples,the main congeners were 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF（17%）,1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF（15%）,1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF（12%） and OCDF（30%）.Considering toxicity equivalency factors,the dominant congeners were 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF,1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF,2,3,7,8-TCDF and 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD,and the contribution to the total TEQwas29%,16%,14%and 12%,respectively.Overall,2.1%（43 out of 2067） of all the analyzed samples exceeded the different individual ＇European Union maximum limited levels for PCDD/Fs.This study is beneficial for the determination of the status of contamination levels of feed and feed ingredients.

Occurrence and impact of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans in the air and soil around a municipal solid waste incinerator

To assess the influence of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans（PCDD/Fs） on the environment in the vicinity of municipal solid waste incinerators（MSWIs）, we determined the levels of PCDD/Fs in air and soil samples collected around a MSWI, which is the largest in China. The International Toxicity Equivalency Quantity（I-TEQ） concentrations of PCDD/Fs in air samples were from 0.0300 to 1.03 pg I-TEQ/m^3（0.445–13.6 pg/m^3）, with an average of 0.237 pg I-TEQ/m^3, while in soil samples they ranged from 0.520 to 3.40 pg I-TEQ/g（2.41–88.7 pg/g） with an average of1.49 pg I-TEQ/g. The concentrations of PCDD/Fs in air and soil samples were comparable to other areas, and Pe CDFs were the dominant contributors, which was different from stack gas homologue patterns. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that PCDD/Fs emission from the MSWI did not directly affect the profiles of PCDD/Fs in air and soils, so that vehicles and unidentified emission sources should be considered. The daily inhalation levels of PCDD/Fs for children（0.0110 to 0.392 pg I-TEQ/（kg·day） and adults（0.00600 to 0.221 pg I-TEQ/（kg·day） near the MSWI were lower than the tolerable daily intake of 1.00 to 4.00 pg WHO-TEQ/（kg·day）, but in winter the values were higher than in summer. These results can be used as basic data for assessing the risk of PCDD/Fs exposure in residents living around this MSWI, and more monitoring programs and studies should be carried out around MSWIs.

Formation of secondary inorganic aerosol in a frigid urban atmosphere

Formation of secondary inorganic aerosol(SIA)was investigated during a six-month long heating season in Harbin,China.Enhanced sulfate formation was observed at high relative humidity(RH),with the same threshold RH(80%)for both colder and warmer measurement periods.Compared to wintertime results from Beijing,the threshold RH was considerably higher in Harbin,whereas the RH-dependent enhancement of sulfur oxidation ratio(SOR)was less significant.In addition,the high RH events were rarely encountered,and for other periods,the SOR were typically as low as~0.1.Therefore,the sulfate formation was considered inefficient in this study.After excluding the several cases with high RH,both SOR and the nitrogen oxidation ratio(NOR)exhibited increasing trends as the temperature increased,with the increase of NOR being sharper.The nitrate to sulfate ratio tended to increase with increasing temperature as well.Based on a semi-quantitative approach,this trend was attributed primarily to the temperature-dependent variations of precursors including SO_(2) and NO_(2).The influence of biomass burning emissions on SIA formation was also evident.With stronger impact of biomass burning,an enhancement in NOR was observed whereas SOR was largely unchanged.The different patterns were identified as the dominant driver of the larger nitrate to sulfate ratios measured at higher concentrations of fine particulate matter.