Origin of PM10 Pollution Episodes in an Industrialized Mega-City in Central China

Received: November 14, 2012
Revised: June 5, 2013
Accepted: June 5, 2013
Download Citation: RIS|BibTeX|https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.11.0316  

Cite this article:
Zhuang, X., Wang, Y., Zhu, Z., Querol, X., Alastuey, A., Rodríguez, S., Wei, H., Xu, S., Lu, W., Viana, M. and Minguillón, M.C. (2014). Origin of PM10 Pollution Episodes in an Industrialized Mega-City in Central China. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 14: 338-346. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.11.0316

ABSTRACT

The origin of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) events in an industrialized mega-city of Central China (Wuhan) was investigated. Wuhan constitutes an ideal case scenario for the study of atmospheric pollution episodes, given that it is representative of densely populated and industrialized Chinese cities. Levels of PM₁₀, NO_x and SO₂ were evaluated and automatic PM levels were corrected following EU-guidelines, aiming to achieve comparability with results from outside China (Europe and US). This correction evidenced that PM₁₀ levels were underestimated with the automatic instrumentation by 26–38%. This correction is thus essential for the potential use of ambient PM data in epidemiological and climate studies within China and abroad. Several types of peak PM₁₀ events were identified: winter pollution events (daily mean PM₁₀ = 200–350 µg/m³), Asian desert dust events (PM₁₀ increments of 60–70 µg/m³ on the daily means) and biomass burning episodes (scarce during the study period). Natural contributions are thus a significant PM source to be taken into account for the evaluation of air quality in the area, the application of daily or annual limit values and the potential assessment of the data from an epidemiological point of view. In addition, the influence of the Wuhan pollution plume was detected in the Mulanhu regional site, which is 40 km far from the city, underlining the large area of influence of atmospheric pollution from Wuhan on the regional-scale. Finally, the results from this work evidence that a detailed knowledge of PM episodes and sources at a given site may be obtained by means of relatively straightforward and economic routine measurements (PM₁₀, NO₂, SO₂).

Keywords: PM10; SO2; NO2; Gobi desert dust; Wuhan