THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY DAO THANH HUYEN CHARACTERISTICS OF AMBIENT AIR PM2.5 AT SUBURBAN AREA DURING DIFFERENT PERIODS IN TAIPEI BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode : Full-time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : International Programs Office Batch : 2013 - 2017 Thai Nguyen, September 20, 2017 Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Bachelor of Environmental Science and Degree Program Management Student name DAO THANH HUYEN Student ID DTN 1353130013 Characteristic of ambient air PM2.5 at sub Thesis title urban area during different periods in Taipei Assoc. Chi, Kai-Hsien Supervisor(s) Assoc. Do Ngoc Oanh Abstract: To identify the characteristic and variation of chemical composition of ambient air PM2.5 during different periods, ambient air PM2.5 samples were collected at suburban area of Taipei city in Taiwan from April 24 to May 1, 2017.5 samples were taken by a high-volume air sampler. The samples was collected in the winter (n=14) and spring (n=8), the concentration, soluble-ion and trace metal were analyzed.5 concentration in the winter was slightly higher compared to spring which was 18.
For soluble-ion, the most abundant elements were found to be nss-SO42-, NH4+ and NO3- in both winter and spring which accounting for 88% to over 90% of total soluble-ion mass concentration in both winter and spring. In the winter, the most abundant elements were found to be Na accounting for 54.18% and K accounting for 15% of total trace metals mass. While in spring, Fe (35.26%) were the most abundant. i Ambient air PM2.5, mass concentration, Key words soluble ions, trace metals, Taipei Number of pages 40 Date of submission 20/09/2017 ii ACKNOWLEDMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor Associate Professor Chi Kai-Hsien for supportive, guiding, inspired and keep me on the correct path to complete the thesis during the time of conducting the research at Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences of National Yang Ming University.
I would like to express my endless thanks and gratefulness to my supervisor Associate Professor Do Ngoc Oanh. Her kindly support and continuous advice during my thesis process of completion. Her encouragement and comments had significantly enriched and improved my work. Without her motivation and instructions, the thesis would have been impossible to be done effectively.
I wish to express profound gratitude to Mr. Lian Jian Guo, Mr. Ngô Tuấn Hưng, NaNa, Peggy, Nicole, Joyce and Sherry who are members of Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences for their kindness, patience guidance, and suggestion and support me to complete my work. As last, I would like to thank all members in my big family and my friends, who always believe in me and encourage me unceasingly.
Thai Nguyen, September 20, 2017 DAO THANH HUYEN iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES. vi LIST OF TABLES. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Particulate matter-PM2.
Potential sources contribution of PM2.5 pollution situation in Taipei.5 air quality standard. The trend of air quality in Taipei. Description of the study area. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS.
Ambient air PM2.5 mass concentration at Taipei in winter and spring. Soluble-ion compositions at Taipei in winter and spring. Trace metals composition at Taipei in winter and spring .35 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Relative size of particulate matter, a human hair and beach sand (Credit: Environmental Protect Agency) (2007) .1: Map of sampling area .1: Average mass concentration of PM2.5 in winter and spring compared to the air quality standard. The dashed line represents the standard set by the Taiwan EPA .2: The proportion of daily samples lower and higher than air quality standard .3: Proportion of dominant trace element composition to PM2.
26 (a) in the winter, (b) in the spring. 26 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 2.5 concentration and activities guidance .2: Major species contribute to ambient air PM2.5 air quality standards (μg/m3) .1: Methods used for measurements of fine particulate matter PM2.1: Ambient air PM2.5 mass concentrations in winter and spring .2: The daily mass concentration of PM2.5 and safety level in winter and spring.3: Mean mass concentration (μg/m3) and proportion contribution of soluble-ions composition in PM2.5 in winter and spring .4: Mean concentration (ng/m3) and dominant trace metal compositions in PM2.5 in winter and spring. 25 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS DAQI Daily Air Quality Index EPA Environmental Protection Agency HC Hydrocarbon NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards OC, EC Organic Carbon, Elementary Carbon PM Particulate Matter PM2.5 Particle mass with diameters less than 2.5 mm PUF Polyurethane Foam TEPA Taiwanese Environmental Protection Administration TRTS Taipei Rapid Transit System U.S EPA United State Environmental Protection Agency WHO World Health Organization viii PART I. Research rationale In recent years, urbanization and modernization are the main causes worsening of air pollution and various sources of particulate matter (PM).
World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2016) published a report that ambient air pollution was caused three million deaths globally in 2012. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air, it is known as an important part of air pollution. Previous studies pointed out that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which smaller than 10 µm (PM10) in diameter can easily be inhaled by human and accumulate in alveoles but hard to expel (K. Cheng et al.
Fine particulate matters are more toxic than the coarse one. When those particles enter the human body through the respiratory system, they can cause a series of acute illnesses or serious respiratory (Nwafor et al.5 include organic compounds, metals, combustion particles and chemical component which many of them have been cited as contributors to toxicity and adversely affect human health (Kelly & Fussell, 2012; Pui et al.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the long term exposure to PM2.5 may lead to increase the risk of premature death especially in children, elderly and individuals with cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks, irregular heartbeat. In addition, for individuals with asthma or suffering from other respiratory diseases, the exposure to PM2.5 may lead to aggravated disease and decreased lung function. Such the studies reviewed that PM2.5 increase for every 10 1 μg/m3, the number of emergency patients due to hypertension will raise by 4 to 8 percent (U.
Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). Based on the associated with premature deaths, ambient air PM2.5 was the seventh factor globally considered as worst health risk of global (Anenberg et al.5 is considered as an important air quality index and issue of air quality management in the area (Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration, 2008). There are two sources of PM2.5 which are primary source and secondary source. Primary source of PM2.5 also called direct source which emitted from the tailpipes of cars, trucks and other on-road vehicles.
In addition, pollutants from local sources, together with long range transport can result in high pollution in short term episodes and have strong impact on human health. The secondary source of PM2.5 can be formed from the chemical reactions of gaseous such as NOx, SOx and NH3. Measures to reduce the emission of these gaseous are beneficial in reducing the overall of PM2. Characteristics of PM2.5 may vary in different weather conditions.
Besides, chemical compositions in PM2.5 demonstrate an important role in air quality. The concentrations of soluble-ions are driven by local emissions. In addition, the high concentration of crustal elements shows the importance of wind-blow and dust in air quality. Determination of soluble-ions and trace metals and their chemical abundances are useful to identify the causes of high PM2.
Taipei is the largest city in Taiwan which including 12 administrative districts and covers a total area of approximate 271.8 km² while the population reached 2. Taipei city has a high density of vehicles which have generated a huge amount of pollutants. A study of Chan et al., (1996) 2 about relationship between emissions and ambient concentrations that the greatest contribution to CO in Taipei estimated 70-76% (0.97 mg/m3) by motorcycles; passenger cars had the greatest contribution to NOx about 50-63% (0.26 mg/m3) and the contributions of emissions to ambient total hydrocarbon (HC) is estimated 17-58% (0.85 mg/m3) by gasoline evaporation. However, there are several limitations and uncertainties still exist in most source apportionment models such as environmental concentration and chemical composition of pollutants.
Thus, work still needs more research and data in order to improve reliable quantification for the benefit of emission reduction from different source categories. Studying the characteristics of the fine particles during different periods is important to enable effectively implement concentration control and future mitigation strategies in addressing public health issues. Thus, having this project conducted “Characteristics of Ambient Air PM2.5 at Suburban Area during Different Periods in Taipei” 1. What is characteristic of ambient air PM2.5 in Taipei city? 2.
How does ambient air PM2.5 concentration change over the two periods? 3. How does chemical compositions variation over the two periods? 4. Is ambient air in Taipei safe? 1. Research’s objectives The objective of this study was to investigate characteristic, chemical composition and concentration of ambient air PM2.5 in different periods in Taipei city.
Limitation There were some limitations in this study: 1. There were a too small number of samples to analyze the source apportionment by factor analysis. Therefore, in this study will not present the source apportionment. Only soluble-ion and trace metal were analyzed.
Particulate matter-PM2.5 is known as fine particulate matter in the air which generally less than 2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter and can only be detected using an electron microscope. It is a complex mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air which is composed of sulfate, nitrate, organic chemicals, metals and crustal elements etc. Cheng et al. Hu et al.
Hu et al.S Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) divides particulate matter into three classifications: coarse (2.5-10 µm in diameter), fine (0.5 µm in diameter) and ultrafine (<0.1 µm in diameter) particles. The various size fractions of particulate matter (PM) components have a meaningful association between exposure and occurrence of adverse health effects (Englert, 2004; Nel A. To get a comprehensive of size and comparison to other particles size is given in Figure 2. Previous studies have shown that PM2.5 may penetrate and accumulate into alveoles easily but hard to expel then destroy self-defense and immunity mechanism from inside the cell (K.
Cheng et al. The long-term exposure to PM2.5 increases the risk of respiratory illness such as asthma and lung cancer. Besides, it also increases the risk of premature mortality due to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke (Dockery et al., 1993; Pope III et al.1: Relative size of particulate matter, a human hair and beach sand (Credit: Environmental Protect Agency) (2007) Many studies illustrated that atmospheric conditions including vertical and horizontal temperature, atmosphere pressure, wind speed, and water vapor density affect the dispersion of PM2. In addition, the climatic condition also affects the decomposition of PM2.5 through chemical, physical and biological processes such as dry and wet depositions (Janhäll, 2015; Lizong, 1985; Rohde & Muller, 2015).
According to EPA, particulate matter levels are usually high during north-east monsoon in autumn and winter, especially for PM2.5, which can have worse health effects than PM10. It is important that there is no threshold concentration of fine particulate matter without health effects. It may affect to human health even at very low levels, and the proportion of human-impacted can increase as levels of fine particulate matter increase. Or in other words, there is no safe level of fine particulate matter (Boyd, 2006).S Environmental Protect Agency (US EPA) has classified PM2.5 concentrations into four group levels to assess their impact.
At level 1, people are free to enjoy usual outdoor activities.5 is 2, people should reduce strenuous physical activities, particularly outdoors. The general population should consider reducing activities, especially outdoors if PM2.5 index reaches 4, it means air quality is really bad; thus everyone should avoid outdoor activities.