Ambient Fine and Ultrafine Particle Measurements and Their Correlations with Particulate PAHs at an Elementary School Near a Highway

Abstract

Ambient particulate matter (PM) and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were measured continuously for 70 days at a Korean elementary school located near a highway. The PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 values were measured with a lightscattering, multi-channel, aerosol spectrometer (Grimm, Model 1.107). The number concentrations of the particles were measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer and counter (SMPS+C) which counted particles from 11.1 to 1083.3 nm classified in 44 channels. Particle-bound PAHs were measured with a direct reading, photoelectric aerosol sensor. The daily NO2, SO2, and CO concentrations were obtained from a national air-monitoring station located near the school. The average concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 75.3, 59.3, and 52.1 μg/m3, respectively. The average number concentration of the ultrafine particles (UFPs) was 46,307/cm3, and the averaged particle-bound PAHs concentration was 17.9 ng/m3 during the study period. The ambient UFP variation was strongly associated with traffic intensity, particularly peak concentrations during the traffic rush hours. Particles <100 nm corresponded to traffic-related pollutants, including PAHs. Additional longterm monitoring of ambient UFPs and high-resolution traffic measurements should be carried out in future studies. In addition, transient variations in the ambient particle concentration should be taken into consideration in epidemiology studies in order to examine the short-term health effects of urban UFPs.

Keywords

• ultrafine particles
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• particulate matter
• traffic-related pollutants
• highway