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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (3): 391-404.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.181

• Climatology and Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristics, sources and health risk assessment of PM2.5-bound heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution in middle Tianshan Mountains

CHAI Mingchen1(), XU Guojie1(), ZHEN Zhongxiu2, YIN Yan1, ZHENG Bohua3,4, CHEN Kui5, LI Bin3,4, LI Yuanyuan3,4   

  1. 1. China Meteorological Administration Aerosol-Cloud and Precipitation Key Laboratory, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, Jiangsu, China
    2. School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, Inner Mongolia, China
    3. Weather Modification Office of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
    4. Xinjiang Weather Modification Engineering Technology Research Centre, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
    5. School of Emergency Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2024-03-19 Revised:2024-05-08 Online:2025-03-25 Published:2025-03-14
  • Contact: XU Guojie E-mail:chaimingchen@nuist.edu.cn;guojiexu@nuist.edu.cn

Abstract:

To investigate the pollution characteristics of PM2.5 in the middle Tianshan Mountains, PM2.5 samples were collected in Wulasitai region of the middle Tianshan Mountains from July to September 2019. Heavy metal contents were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), while polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were examined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The study explored the sources and health effects of heavy metals and PAHs in PM2.5. The key results are as follows: (1) Concentrations of heavy metals and PAHs during summer and autumn in the middle Tianshan Mountains were relatively low. The average concentration levels of each element were: Fe>Cu>Zn>Pb>Mn>Cr>As>V>Rb>Ni>Co>Se>Cd>Tl. The total average heavy metal concentration was 238.50 ng·m-3, with Fe (139.90 ng·m-3) and Cu (78.72 ng·m-3) being dominant, while other elements were below 10 ng·m-3. The total average concentration of PAHs was 1.37 ng·m-3, with 3-ring, 4-ring, and 5-7 ring PAHs concentration accounting for 3.59%, 32.34%, and 64.07%, respectively. (2) During the observation period, PM2.5 was influenced by long-distance transport from the west and short-distance transport from the north and west. It may also have been affected by local valley wind and boundary layer changes. (3) Positive matrix factorization (PMF) identified key pollution sources, including natural gas combustion and petroleum sources (28.56%), vehicle emissions and coal burning (28.46%), biomass burning and industrial pollution (16.14%), non-ferrous metal smelting (14.32%), and dust (12.52%). (4) Direct inhalation of PM2.5 posed a carcinogenic risk to adults and children due to heavy metals and PAHs, with Cr, Co, As, and Se identified as high-risk substances. Non-carcinogenic health risks were relatively low.

Key words: PM2.5, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pollution characteristics, source analysis, middle Tianshan Mountains