Particles and Metallic Elements near a High-Tech Industrial Park: Analysis of Size Distributions

ABSTRACT

To characterize airborne particles near high-tech industrial parks, this case study used an eight-stage micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor sampler to analyze trace metal patterns in different size groups of airborne particles at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) in Taichung. To rapidly screen out the potential pollution sources according to the analytical results, a novel model based on expected value theory is proposed. The analytical results show that the ambient air near the CTSP is rich in fine and ultrafine particles and V, As, Ga and Cd have significant increases in ultrafine particles between upwind and downwind areas of CTSP. The proposed source screening tool indicates that CTSP is the major contributor to airborne concentrations of Ga and As in the ambient air near the CTSP, especially in fine and ultrafine particles.