Comparison of trace elements in size-fractionated particles in two communities with contrasting socioeconomic status in Houston, TX

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• 作者：Inkyu Han ; Yuncan Guo ; Masoud Afshar…
• 关键词：Socioeconomic status ; Quasi ; ultrafine particles ; Accumulation particle ; Coarse particle ; Trace elements
• 刊名：Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：189
• 期：2
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Earth and Environmental Science
• 刊物主题：Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Environmental Management; Ecotoxicology; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Ecology;
• 出版者：Springer International Publishing
• ISSN：1573-2959
• 卷排序：189

文摘

Levels of ambient air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), are often higher in low-socioeconomic status (SES) communities than in high-SES communities. Houston is the fourth largest city in the USA and is home to a large petrochemical industry, an active port, and congested roadways, which represent significant emission sources of air pollution in the region. To compare levels of air pollution between a low-SES and a high-SES community, we simultaneously collected a 7-day integrated size-fractionated PM between June 2013 and November 2013. We analyzed PM mass and elements for three particle size modes: quasi-ultrafine particles (quasi-UFP) (aerodynamic diameter <0.25 μm), accumulation mode particles (0.25–2.5 μm), and coarse mode particles (>2.5 μm). Concentrations of vanadium, nickel, manganese, and iron in the quasi-UFP mode were significantly higher in the low-SES community than in the high-SES community. In the accumulation and coarse modes, concentrations of crustal elements and barium were also significantly higher in the low-SES community compared to the high-SES community. These findings suggest that people living in the low-SES community may experience higher exposures to some toxic elements as compared to people in the high-SES community.