Chemical Characterization of Outdoor and Subway Fine (PM2.5–1.0) and Coarse (PM10–2.5) Particulate Matter in Seoul (Korea) by Computer-Controlled Scanning Electron Microscopy (CCSEM)

Outdoor and indoor (subway) samples were collected by passive sampling in urban Seoul (Korea) and analyzed with computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (CCSEM-EDX). Soil/road dust particles accounted for 42%–60% (by weight) of fine particulate matter larger than 1 µm (PM2.5–1.0) in outdoor samples and 18% of PM2.5–1.0 in subway samples. Iron-containing particles accounted for only 3%–6% in outdoor samples but 69% in subway samples. Qualitatively similar results were found for coarse particulate matter (PM10–2.5) with soil/road dust particles dominating outdoor samples (66%–83%) and iron-containing particles contributing most to subway PM10–2.5 (44%). As expected, soil/road dust particles comprised a greater mass fraction of PM10–2.5 than PM2.5–1.0. Also as expected, the mass fraction of iron-containing particles was substantially less in PM10–2.5 than in PM2.5–1.0. Results of this study are consistent with known emission sources in the area and with previous studies, which showed high concentrations of iron-containing particles in the subway compared to outdoor sites. Thus, passive sampling with CCSEM-EDX offers an inexpensive means to assess PM2.5–1.0 and PM10-2.5 simultaneously and by composition at multiple locations.

[1]  Per Gustavsson,et al.  Incidence of lung cancer among subway drivers in Stockholm. , 2008, American journal of industrial medicine.

[2]  Sophie Lanone,et al.  Biological effects of particles from the paris subway system. , 2007, Chemical research in toxicology.

[3]  A. Valavanidis,et al.  Generation of hydroxyl radicals by urban suspended particulate air matter. The role of iron ions , 2000 .

[4]  HeeJin Hwang,et al.  Chemical compositions of subway particles in Seoul, Korea determined by a quantitative single particle analysis. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[5]  Lennart Möller,et al.  Subway particles are more genotoxic than street particles and induce oxidative stress in cultured human lung cells. , 2005, Chemical research in toxicology.

[6]  Sonja N Sax,et al.  Elevated airborne exposures of teenagers to manganese, chromium, and iron from steel dust and New York City's subway system. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[7]  R. Devlin,et al.  Inflammatory lung injury after bronchial instillation of air pollution particles. , 2001, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[8]  Darrin K. Ott,et al.  Passive sampling to capture spatial variability in PM10–2.5 , 2008 .

[9]  H. Karlsson,et al.  Comparison of genotoxic and inflammatory effects of particles generated by wood combustion, a road simulator and collected from street and subway. , 2006, Toxicology letters.

[10]  M. Minguillón,et al.  A new look at inhalable metalliferous airborne particles on rail subway platforms. , 2015, The Science of the total environment.

[11]  Francesca Dominici,et al.  Estimating the acute health effects of coarse particulate matter accounting for exposure measurement error. , 2011, Biostatistics.

[12]  J. Schauer,et al.  Reactive oxygen species activity and chemical speciation of size-fractionated atmospheric particulate matter from Lahore, Pakistan: an important role for transition metals. , 2010, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[13]  T. Evans,et al.  Iron and the redox status of the lungs. , 2002, Free radical biology & medicine.

[14]  G. Evans,et al.  Cytotoxic and proinflammatory effects of ambient and source-related particulate matter (PM) in relation to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytokine adsorption by particles , 2010, Inhalation toxicology.

[15]  Kenneth E. Noll,et al.  Characterization of the deposition of particles from the atmosphere to a flat plate , 1988 .

[16]  Philip K. Hopke,et al.  Source Apportionment of the El Paso Aerosol by Particle Class Balance Analysis , 1988 .

[17]  J. Zelikoff,et al.  A role for associated transition metals in the immunotoxicity of inhaled ambient particulate matter. , 2002, Environmental health perspectives.

[18]  A. Valavanidis,et al.  Airborne Particulate Matter and Human Health: Toxicological Assessment and Importance of Size and Composition of Particles for Oxidative Damage and Carcinogenic Mechanisms , 2008, Journal of environmental science and health. Part C, Environmental carcinogenesis & ecotoxicology reviews.

[19]  C. Ro,et al.  Quantitative ED-EPMA combined with morphological information for the characterization of individual aerosol particles collected in Incheon, Korea , 2009 .

[20]  M. Carraway,et al.  Composition of Air Pollution Particles and Oxidative Stress in Cells, Tissues, and Living Systems , 2012, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews.

[21]  Peter S. Vinzents,et al.  A PASSIVE PERSONAL DUST MONITOR , 1996 .

[22]  Luther A. Smith,et al.  Seasonal effects in land use regression models for nitrogen dioxide, coarse particulate matter, and gaseous ammonia in Cleveland, Ohio , 2012 .

[23]  P. Buseck,et al.  Individual particle types in the aerosol of phoenix, Arizona. , 1995, Environmental science & technology.

[24]  E. Longhin,et al.  Winter fine particulate matter from Milan induces morphological and functional alterations in human pulmonary epithelial cells (A549). , 2009, Toxicology letters.

[25]  Å. Holgersson,et al.  Mechanisms related to the genotoxicity of particles in the subway and from other sources. , 2008, Chemical research in toxicology.

[26]  Daniel Krewski,et al.  Association between Air Pollution and Multiple Respiratory Hospitalizations among the Elderly in Vancouver, Canada , 2006, Inhalation toxicology.

[27]  A. Nel,et al.  Ultrafine particulate pollutants induce oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. , 2002, Environmental health perspectives.

[28]  M. Lippmann,et al.  Effects of Metals within Ambient Air Particulate Matter ( PM ) on Human Health , 2008 .

[29]  D. Wake,et al.  PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF A DEVICE FOR PASSIVE SAMPLING OF AIRBORNE PARTICIPATE , 1994 .

[30]  E Dybing,et al.  Release of inflammatory cytokines, cell toxicity and apoptosis in epithelial lung cells after exposure to ambient air particles of different size fractions. , 2004, Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA.

[31]  R. Willis,et al.  Evaluation of Computer-Controlled Scanning Electron Microscopy Applied to an Ambient Urban Aerosol Sample , 2001 .

[32]  A. Valavanidis,et al.  Electron paramagnetic resonance study of the generation of reactive oxygen species catalysed by transition metals and quinoid redox cycling by inhalable ambient particulate matter , 2005, Redox report : communications in free radical research.

[33]  B. Brunekreef,et al.  Epidemiological evidence of effects of coarse airborne particles on health , 2005, European Respiratory Journal.

[34]  A Seaton,et al.  The London Underground: dust and hazards to health , 2005, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[35]  Darrin K. Ott,et al.  Passive measurement of coarse particulate matter, PM10–2.5 , 2008 .

[36]  Tamás Weidinger,et al.  Time-resolved mass concentration, composition and sources of aerosol particles in a metropolitan underground railway station , 2007 .

[37]  Daniel Krewski,et al.  Ambient Air Pollution and Population Health: Overview , 2007, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[38]  Fang Zhang,et al.  Oxidative stress induced by urban fine particles in cultured EA.hy926 cells. , 2011 .

[39]  T. G. Dzubay,et al.  Use of electron microscopy data in receptor models for PM-10 , 1989 .

[40]  R. Grieken,et al.  Single Particle Characterization of Inorganic Suspension in Lake Baikal, Siberia , 1997 .

[41]  R. Willis,et al.  Single-particle SEM-EDX analysis of iron-containing coarse particulate matter in an urban environment: sources and distribution of iron within Cleveland, Ohio. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[42]  Ian D. Williams,et al.  Characterisation of airborne particles in London by computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy , 1999 .

[43]  D. Costa,et al.  Bioavailable transition metals in particulate matter mediate cardiopulmonary injury in healthy and compromised animal models. , 1997, Environmental health perspectives.

[44]  M. Hannigan,et al.  Source apportionment of in vitro reactive oxygen species bioassay activity from atmospheric particulate matter. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[45]  J. Lighty,et al.  Interleukin-8 levels in human lung epithelial cells are increased in response to coal fly ash and vary with the bioavailability of iron, as a function of particle size and source of coal. , 2000, Chemical research in toxicology.

[46]  A. Ghio,et al.  EFFECTS OF INHALED IRON OXIDE PARTICLES ON ALVEOLAR EPITHELIAL PERMEABILITY IN NORMAL SUBJECTS , 2001, Inhalation toxicology.

[47]  Naresh Kumar,et al.  Passive sampling to capture the spatial variability of coarse particles by composition in Cleveland, OH , 2015 .

[48]  W. MacNee,et al.  Free radical activity of PM10: iron-mediated generation of hydroxyl radicals. , 1997, Environmental health perspectives.

[49]  David Leith,et al.  Passive Aerosol Sampler. Part I: Principle of Operation , 2001 .

[50]  A. Ledbetter,et al.  Pulmonary responses to oil fly ash particles in the rat differ by virtue of their specific soluble metals. , 1998, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[51]  A. Imrich,et al.  Analysis of air pollution particulate-mediated oxidant stress in alveolar macrophages. , 1998, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[52]  Shang Yu,et al.  Physico-chemical characterization of PM2.5 in the microenvironment of Shanghai subway , 2015 .

[53]  P. Hopke,et al.  Characterization and heterogeneity of coarse particles across an urban area , 2012 .

[54]  Y. Zhang,et al.  Effects of particle size distribution, surface area and chemical composition on Portland cement strength , 1995 .

[55]  Ronald W. Williams,et al.  Individual particle analysis of indoor, outdoor, and community samples from the 1998 Baltimore particulate matter study , 2001 .

[56]  Shila Maskey,et al.  Source identification of particulate matter collected at underground subway stations in Seoul, Korea using quantitative single-particle analysis , 2010 .

[57]  D. Wake,et al.  Preliminary assessment of a device for passive sampling of airborne particulate. Discussion , 1994 .

[58]  Timo Mäkelä,et al.  The concentrations and composition of and exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) in the Helsinki subway system , 2005 .

[59]  J. Carter,et al.  Cytokine production by human airway epithelial cells after exposure to an air pollution particle is metal-dependent. , 1997, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[60]  R. Burnett,et al.  Influence of Relatively Low Level of Particulate Air Pollution on Hospitalization for COPD in Elderly People , 2004, Inhalation toxicology.

[61]  Yoichi Araki,et al.  SEASONAL VARIATION AND THEIR CHARACTERIZATION OF SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE AIR OF SUBWAY STATIONS , 2001 .