Abstract

Particulate lead (Pb) is a primary air pollutant that affects society because of its health impacts. This study investigates the source sectors of Pb associated with ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) over central-western Taiwan (CWT) with new constraints on the Pb-isotopic composition. We demonstrate that the contribution of coal-fired facilities is overwhelming, which is estimated to reach 35 ± 16% in the summertime and is enhanced to 57 ± 24% during the winter monsoon seasons. Moreover, fossil-fuel vehicles remain a major source of atmospheric Pb, which accounts for 12 ± 5%, despite the current absence of a leaded gasoline supply. Significant seasonal and geographical variations in the Pb-isotopic composition are revealed, which suggest that the impact of East Asian (EA) pollution outflows is important in north CWT and drastically declines toward the south. We estimate the average contribution of EA outflows as accounting for 35 ± 15% (3.6 ± 1.5 ng/m3) of the atmospheric Pb loading in CWT during the winter monsoon seasons.

Details

Title
Isotopic signatures and source apportionment of Pb in ambient PM2.5
Author
Chien-Cheng, Jung 1 ; Chou, Charles C-K 2 ; Yi-Tang, Huang 2 ; Shih-Yu, Chang 3 ; Chung-Te, Lee 4 ; Chuan-Yao, Lin 2 ; Hing-Cho, Cheung 2 ; Wei-Chen, Kuo 5 ; Chang, Chih-Wei 6 ; Shuenn-Chin, Chang 7 

 China Medical University, Department of Public Health, Taichung, Taiwan (GRID:grid.254145.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 0083 6092) 
 Academia Sinica, Research Center for Environmental Changes, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.28665.3f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2287 1366) 
 Chung Shan Medical University, Department of Public Health, Taichung, Taiwan (GRID:grid.411641.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 0532 2041) 
 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan (GRID:grid.37589.30) (ISNI:0000 0004 0532 3167) 
 Meteorological Research Institute (MRI), Tsukuba, Japan (GRID:grid.237586.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0597 9981) 
 Environmental Protection Administration, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.478965.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 0637 7087) 
 Environmental Protection Administration, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.478965.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 0637 7087); National Defense Medical Center, School of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.260565.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0634 0356) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2638863147
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.