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Over the past decade, member states of the Regional Co-operation Agreement (RCA), an intergovernmental agreement for the East Asia and Pacific region under the auspices of the IAEA with the assistance of international organizations and financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have started to set in place policies and legislation for air pollution abatement. To support planning and evaluate the effectiveness of control programs, data are needed that characterizes urban air quality. The focus of this measurement program describe in this report is on size segregated particulate air pollution. Such airborne particulate matter can have a significant impact on human health and urban visibility. These data provide the input to receptor models that may permit the mitigation of these impacts by identification and quantitative apportionment of the particle sources. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the measurements of concentrations and composition of particulate air pollution in two size fractions across the participating countries. For many of the large cities in this region, the measured particulate matter concentrations are greater than air quality standards or guidelines that have been adopted in developed countries.

Fine particle air pollution is a significant problem in large urbanised areas across the Asian region. With funding from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fifteen countries in Asia have been collecting weekly samples on filters of fine and coarse particles in major cities for the past 15 years. These filters have been analysed for over 20 different chemical species from hydrogen to lead using a range of analytical techniques including accelerator based ion beam techniques such as PIXE, PIGE, PESA, RBS, as well as XRF and NAA. These data have been included into a major database, which is generally available, containing over 17,000 combined sampling days from these fifteen countries spanning an area of the globe from ± 50° latitude and from 70° to 180° longitude. That is, the sampling covers an area north-south from Mongolia to New Zealand and west-east from Islamabad, Pakistan to Wellington, NZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over 900 fine particle Teflon filters were collected within the Sydney Basin between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2011 and analyzed using simultaneous PIXE, PIGE, RBS and PESA techniques to determine 21 different elements between hydrogen and lead. These elements were used in positive matrix factorization (PMF) and multi-linear engine (ME) techniques together with HYSPLIT wind back trajectory techniques to quantitatively determine source fingerprints and their contributions from coal-fired power stations. The power stations were many kilometers outside the greater Sydney metropolitan area but still had a significant impact on the fine particle mass loadings measured at the sampling site within this metropolitan area. The PM2.5 eleven year average mass at the sampling site was 6.48 μg m−3. The corresponding ammonium sulfate estimate was 1.65 μg m−3 or 26% of the PM2.5 mass. By applying back trajectory data and (ME) analysis methods, two power related fingerprints, secondary sulfate (2ndrySPower) and aged industrial sulfur (IndSagedPower) were determined. These two power related fingerprints were responsible for between 14 and 18% of the total PM2.5 mass and 34–47% of the total sulfate measured at the sampling site. That is on average somewhere between a third and a half of all the sulfate measured in the greater Sydney region could be attributed to coal-fired power station emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: PM2.5 particulate matter has been collected on Teflon filters every Sunday and Wednesday at Hanoi, Vietnam for nearly eight years from April 2001 to December 2008. These filters have been analysed for over 21 different chemical species from hydrogen to lead by ion beam analysis techniques. This is the first long term PM2.5 dataset for this region. The average PM2.5 mass for the study period was (54 ± 33) μg m−3, well above the current US EPA health goal of 15 μg m−3. The average PM2.5 composition was found to be (29 ± 8)% ammonium sulfate, (8.9 ± 3.3)% soil, (28 ± 11)% organic matter, (0.6 ± 1.4)% salt and (9.2 ± 2.8)% black carbon. The remaining missing mass (25%) was mainly nitrates and absorbed water. Positive matrix factorisation techniques identified the major source contributions to the fine mass as automobiles and transport (40 ± 10)%, windblown soil (3.4 ± 2)%, secondary sulfates (7.8 ± 10)%, smoke from biomass burning (13 ± 6)%, ferrous and cement industries (19 ± 8)%, and coal combustion (17 ± 7)% during the 8 year study period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A worldwide compilation of atmospheric total phosphorus (TP) and phosphate (PO4) concentration and deposition flux observations are combined with transport model simulations to derive the global distribution of concentrations and deposition fluxes of TP and PO4. Our results suggest that mineral aerosols are the dominant source of TP on a global scale (82%), with primary biogenic particles (12%) and combustion sources (5%) important in nondusty regions. Globally averaged anthropogenic inputs are estimated to be ~5 and 15% for TP and PO4, respectively, and may contribute as much as 50% to the deposition over the oligotrophic ocean where productivity may be phosphorus-limited. There is a net loss of TP from many (but not all) land ecosystems and a net gain of TP by the oceans (560 Gg P a-1). More measurements of atmospheric TP and PO4 will assist in reducing uncertainties in our understanding of the role that atmospheric phosphorus may play in global biogeochemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unique data for Australia on the concentration of selected metals in fine particle ambient air pollution is presented for urban, industrial and rural sites along 300 km section of the eastern coast line of Australia around Sydney. IBA techniques were used to determine over 25 different chemical species in the air including, H, C, N, O, F, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Se and Pb. This included many trace metals at concentrations around 1 ng/m3 of air sampled. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Current knowledge of fine-particle airborne pollution concentrations and constituents with diameters below 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is limited. Sources are both natural and man-made. Here we describe two types of experiments performed using the advanced photon source facility at Chicago, and compare the results with PIXE analysis on the same fine particle filters. These are firstly broad beam (2 mm) studies with tuned synchrotron beam energies to help resolve over-lapping X-rays, and secondly highly focused X-ray beam studies (0.2 μm) of individual fine particles from airborne pollution combustion sources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new approach to link HYSPLIT back trajectories to the source of fine particle pollution as characterised by standard IBA techniques is discussed. The example of the long range transport of desert dust from inland Australia across the eastern coast is used to show that over a 10-year period extreme soil events originated from major agricultural regions some 30% of the time and that dust from known deserts are not always the problem. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

PM2.5 aerosols were sampled and atmospheric 222Rn (radon) was measured, at Hong Kong, China, over 3 years 2001–2003. The aerosol samples were analysed using accelerator-based Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques to provide quantitative information on 21 of their major and minor elemental contributions. The radon concentration on aerosol sampling days was then used to classify the degree of land contact (high or low) experienced by air masses en route to the receptor site. It was found that elements known to originate from anthropogenic sources (e.g. Zn, K, Br, Pb and Black Carbon) were positively correlated with observed radon concentration. An eight-factor Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF) analysis was performed on the data set, which resulted in elemental profiles (“fingerprints”) for eight potential sources and we identified source factors that were correlated with radon. The Potential Source Contribution Function technique was then used to identify the geographic regions most likely to have significantly contributed to the aerosol samples collected at the receptor site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Characterisation of atmospheric aerosols is of major importance for: climate, the hydrological cycle, human health and policymaking, biogeochemical and palaeo-climatological studies. In this study, the chemical composition and source apportionment of PM 2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 μm) at Yarrangobilly, in the Snowy Mountains, SE Australia are examined and quantified. A new aerosol monitoring network was deployed in June 2013 and aerosol samples collected during the period July 2013 to July 2017 were analysed for 22 trace elements and black carbon by ion beam analysis techniques. Positive matrix factorisation and back trajectory analysis and trajectory clustering methods were employed for source apportionment and to isolate source areas and air mass travel pathways, respectively. This study identified the mean atmospheric PM 2.5 mass concentration for the study period was (3.3 ± 2.5) μg m −3 . It is shown that automobile (44.9 ± 0.8)%, secondary sulfate (21.4 ± 0.9)%, smoke (12.3 ± 0.6)%, soil (11.3 ± 0.5)% and aged sea salt (10.1 ± 0.4)% were the five PM 2.5 source types, each with its own distinctive trends. The automobile and smoke sources were ascribed to a significant local influence from the road network and bushfire and hazard reduction burns, respectively. Long-range transport are the dominant sources for secondary sulfate from coal-fired power stations, windblown soil from the inland saline regions of the Lake Eyre and Murray-Darling Basins, and aged sea salt from the Southern Ocean to the remote alpine study site. The impact of recent climate change was recognised, as elevated smoke and windblown soil events correlated with drought and El Niño periods. Finally, the overall implications including potential aerosol derived proxies for interpreting palaeo-archives are discussed. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term detailed temporal and spatial characterisation of PM 2.5 aerosols for the region and provides a crucial dataset for a range of multidisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study a small but comprehensive data set from a 24-hourly sampling program carried out during June 2001 in an industrial area in Brisbane was chosen to investigate the effect of inclusion of multiple type composition data and wind data on source apportionment of air pollutants using the Positive Matrix Factorisation model, EPA PMF 3.0. The combined use of aerosol, VOC, main gaseous pollutants composition data and wind data resulted in better values of statistical indicators and diagnostic plots, and source factors which could be more easily related to known sources. The number of source factors resolved was similar to those reported in the literature where larger data sets were used. Three source factors were identified for the coarse particle samples, including ‘crustal matter’, ‘vehicle emissions’ and ‘sea spray’. Seven source factors were identified for the fine particle and VOC samples, including ‘secondary and biogenic’, ‘petroleum refining’, ‘vehicle emissions’, ‘petroleum product wholesaling’, ‘evaporative emissions’, ‘sea spray’ and ‘crustal matter’. The factor loadings of the 16 wind sectors and the calm wind sector from the PMF analysis were also used to quantify the directional contribution of the source factors. While the contributions were higher in the prevailing wind directions as expected, calm winds were also found to contribute up to 17% of the pollutant mass on average. The factor loadings, normalised by the overall abundance of the wind sectors, were also used to assess the directional dependences of the source factors. The results matched well with the location of known sources in the area. There was also a higher contribution potential from calm winds for local sources compared to that for distant sources. The results of directional effect using the PMF factor loading approach were similar to those by using the other approaches. This approach, however, also provides estimates of the mass contribution of source factors by wind sector and also the uncertainty of the results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]