Influences of Beehive Firework Displays on Ambient Fine Particles during the Lantern Festival in the YanShuei Area of Southern Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This study investigates water-soluble ions in the sized particles (particularly Aitken nuclei mode (dp ≤ 0.1 µm, PM_0.1)/accumulation mode (0.1 < dp ≤ 1.0 µm, PM_0.1–1.0)) collected using a MOUDI sampler in the YanShuei area of southern Taiwan during a beehive fireworks display. The results indicate that the PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations (437 µg/m³ and 572 µg/m³, respectively) at the leeward sampling site are 12.5 and 4.6 times higher than the corresponding national standards of daily mean values (35 and 125 µg/m³, respectively) during the beehive fireworks display. Closely examining PM accumulation fractions reveals that the accumulation mode particles dominate in the sized collected particles during the beehive fireworks display. Additionally, the K⁺ concentrations in PM_1.0, PM_2.5, and PM_2.5–10 are 317, 349, and 249 times higher than those of its background value, while those of Cl^– are 91, 64, and 6.9 times greater than those of its background value. For ultrafine particles, the D/B (During the beehive fireworks display/Background) values of particle-bound Cl^–, K⁺, and Mg²⁺ increase significantly during the beehive fireworks display at the leeward sampling site. Moreover, the maxima D/B value of K⁺ is 196 in the 0.1–0.18 mm size range, revealing that the beehive firework aerosols are rich in Cl^–, K⁺, and Mg²⁺ ions.