Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain
Atmospheric elements can cause harmful effects on air quality and human health. Despite extensive research on PM<sub>2.5</sub>, there remains a limited understanding of the seasonal variations, origins, and associated health risks of specific elements in urban areas of the North China Pl...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Yanhui Wang Zhanfang Hou Jiangkai Ma Xiaoting Zhang Xuan Liu Qizong Wang Chen Chen Kaiyue Yang Jingjing Meng |
| author_facet | Yanhui Wang Zhanfang Hou Jiangkai Ma Xiaoting Zhang Xuan Liu Qizong Wang Chen Chen Kaiyue Yang Jingjing Meng |
| author_sort | Yanhui Wang |
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| description | Atmospheric elements can cause harmful effects on air quality and human health. Despite extensive research on PM<sub>2.5</sub>, there remains a limited understanding of the seasonal variations, origins, and associated health risks of specific elements in urban areas of the North China Plain. PM<sub>2.5</sub> samples across four seasons were collected to investigate the seasonal variations, provenance, and health risks of 18 elements in urban Liaocheng. The concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and total detected elements (TDEs) exhibited distinct seasonal patterns, with the biggest values occurring in winter, followed by spring, autumn, and summer. Fe, Ca, Al, and K were the most plentiful elements throughout the campaign, contributing 72.2% of TDEs. The enhanced concentrations of crustal elements were due to frequent dust storms in spring. Results from positive matrix factorization suggested that the dust source was only identified in spring, accounting for the largest percentage (37.0%), while secondary oxidation made the most significant contribution (34.6%) in summer, facilitated by higher temperatures and stronger sunshine. The relative abundance (41.6%) of biomass burning was highest in autumn, ascribed to intensified agricultural waste burning during the autumn harvest, especially in October. The contribution of coal combustion in cold seasons was substantially greater than in warm seasons, highlighting the role of increased coal burning for house heating in deteriorating air quality. Potential source function analysis showed that elements in Liaocheng originated from local and neighboring regions. The carcinogenic risk from the selected elements was notably stronger for adult males than for adult females and children, while the non-carcinogenic risk was stronger for children than for adults. Overall, these findings provide ponderable insights into the contamination characteristics and sources of elements, which are useful to inform effective measures for improving air quality and aerosol modeling. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-a598983b407c416584fc81088fe0e1a32025-01-24T13:21:55ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-01-011617210.3390/atmos16010072Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China PlainYanhui Wang0Zhanfang Hou1Jiangkai Ma2Xiaoting Zhang3Xuan Liu4Qizong Wang5Chen Chen6Kaiyue Yang7Jingjing Meng8School of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environment, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, ChinaAtmospheric elements can cause harmful effects on air quality and human health. Despite extensive research on PM<sub>2.5</sub>, there remains a limited understanding of the seasonal variations, origins, and associated health risks of specific elements in urban areas of the North China Plain. PM<sub>2.5</sub> samples across four seasons were collected to investigate the seasonal variations, provenance, and health risks of 18 elements in urban Liaocheng. The concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and total detected elements (TDEs) exhibited distinct seasonal patterns, with the biggest values occurring in winter, followed by spring, autumn, and summer. Fe, Ca, Al, and K were the most plentiful elements throughout the campaign, contributing 72.2% of TDEs. The enhanced concentrations of crustal elements were due to frequent dust storms in spring. Results from positive matrix factorization suggested that the dust source was only identified in spring, accounting for the largest percentage (37.0%), while secondary oxidation made the most significant contribution (34.6%) in summer, facilitated by higher temperatures and stronger sunshine. The relative abundance (41.6%) of biomass burning was highest in autumn, ascribed to intensified agricultural waste burning during the autumn harvest, especially in October. The contribution of coal combustion in cold seasons was substantially greater than in warm seasons, highlighting the role of increased coal burning for house heating in deteriorating air quality. Potential source function analysis showed that elements in Liaocheng originated from local and neighboring regions. The carcinogenic risk from the selected elements was notably stronger for adult males than for adult females and children, while the non-carcinogenic risk was stronger for children than for adults. Overall, these findings provide ponderable insights into the contamination characteristics and sources of elements, which are useful to inform effective measures for improving air quality and aerosol modeling.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/1/72elementsseasonal variationsprovenancecoal combustionhealth risk assessment |
| spellingShingle | Yanhui Wang Zhanfang Hou Jiangkai Ma Xiaoting Zhang Xuan Liu Qizong Wang Chen Chen Kaiyue Yang Jingjing Meng Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain Atmosphere elements seasonal variations provenance coal combustion health risk assessment |
| title | Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain |
| title_full | Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain |
| title_short | Seasonal Variations and Health Risk Evaluation of Trace Elements in Atmospheric PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Liaocheng, the North China Plain |
| title_sort | seasonal variations and health risk evaluation of trace elements in atmospheric pm sub 2 5 sub in liaocheng the north china plain |
| topic | elements seasonal variations provenance coal combustion health risk assessment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/1/72 |
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