Seasonal Variation and Sources of Heavy Metals in Atmospheric Aerosols in a Residential Area of Ulsan, Korea

Received: October 15, 2010
Revised: July 24, 2011
Accepted: July 24, 2011
Download Citation: RIS|BibTeX|https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2010.10.0089  

Cite this article:
Lee, B.K. and Hieu, N.T. (2011). Seasonal Variation and Sources of Heavy Metals in Atmospheric Aerosols in a Residential Area of Ulsan, Korea. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 11: 679-688. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2010.10.0089

ABSTRACT

This study investigated seasonal variations in mass concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and compositions of heavy metals in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ collected from a typical urban residential area in Ulsan, Korea. PM measurements were conducted during spring and summer of 2009. Mean concentrations of PM_2.5 in spring and summer were 23.2 and 18.1 µg/m³, respectively. Mean concentrations of PM₁₀ in spring and summer were 45.9 and 33.2 µg/m³, respectively. The lower summer PM concentrations as compared to the spring ones are due to the increased rainfall precipitation. Airborne PM was analyzed for these heavy metals: Fe, Zn, Cd, Mn, Pb, Cu, Cr and Ni. All of the metals in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ had higher concentrations in spring than in summer, except Cr in PM₁₀ which shows similar concentrations between spring and summer. Seasonal differences in the metal concentrations may be due to differences in wind directions with some winds passing through industry or traffic areas. Analysis of enrichment factors of heavy metals showed highly enriched Cd, Zn, Pb and Cu. Principal component analysis for the heavy metals in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ identified industrial emissions and road dust (soil and traffic) as major sources at the sampling site.

Keywords: PM2.5; PM10; Heavy metals; Source identification; Temporal variation