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This study used the officially released data by the Chinese air quality monitoring network to analyze the pollution characteristics of six air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3) for 29 cities in the Central Plains Economic Zone (CPEZ; China) in 2015. During 2015, serious particulate matter (PM) pollution often occurred, and the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were 77 μg m−3 and 128 μg m−3, respectively. Air pollutants were at higher concentrations in the northern cities than those in the southern region of the CPEZ, and the correlation among the cities indicated that there was regional pollution in CPEZ. Generally, PM, SO2, NO2, and CO showed similar seasonal characteristics and the highest and lowest concentrations appeared in winter and summer, respectively. In addition, we used the HYSPLIT model and trajStat model to identify the potential source contribution function and concentration-weighted trajectory of Zhengzhou, the central city of CPEZ. More serious air pollution occurred when air masses were transported from the west of the CPEZ. Shaanxi Province, Hubei Province, Anhui Province and the northwest of the CPEZ were found to be the main exogenous sources of total PM with contributions of > 100 μg m−3 PM2.5 and > 180 μg m−3 PM10. Therefore, the concentrations of PM in 2015 at Zhengzhou were probably influenced by both long-distance transmission and local emissions.

Bioaerosols are an important component of particulate matter in the atmosphere and are harmful to human health. In this study, the concentration, size distribution, and factors influencing culturable airborne bacteria and fungi in the atmosphere were investigated using a six-stage impactor device in the city of Xinxiang, China, during the winter season. The results revealed that the concentration of culturable airborne bacteria and fungi varied significantly during the sampling period: 4595 ± 3410 and 6358 ± 5032 CFU/m3, respectively. The particle sizes of the bioaerosols were mainly within stage V (1.1-2.1 μm), and fine particulate matter accounted for 45.9% ± 18.9% of airborne bacteria and 52.0% ± 18.5% of airborne fungi, respectively. With the deterioration of air quality, the concentration of airborne fungi gradually increased, and that of airborne bacteria increased when the air quality index was lower than 200 and decreased when it was higher than 200. With respect to the diurnal variation pattern of bioaerosol concentration, the highest and lowest concentrations were registered at night and noon, respectively, probably because of changes in ultraviolet radiation intensity. Bioaerosol concentration positively correlated with humidity, concentration of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2 and negatively correlated with O3 concentration. The risk of exposure of humans to the airborne bacteria was primarily associated with the respiratory inhalation pathway, and the risk of skin exposure was negligible. These results should improve our understanding of the threat of bioaerosols to public health.

Black carbon (BC) in surface sediments from Henan section of Yellow River and Huaihe River, China, was determined. Average content of BC in Huaihe River was 0.33%, higher than that in Yellow River ...

A total of 150 samples were collected from 25 sites in the Yellow River of Henan Province during 2014 to demonstrate the impact of suspended sediment (SS) load on the behavior of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in the Yellow River. The average concentrations of SS ranged from

This study was conducted in order to explore the seasonal characteristics, climate impact and source of PM2.5 in Xinxiang, China. Daily PM2.5 samples were collected at urban site from January to December in 2015. Average PM2.5 concentration was 100.6 ± 65.8 μg m−3 in Xinxiang, which was several times higher than China Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB3095-2012). Secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA) constituted 70% of the total ionic concentrations. The average concentration of SO42- was 6.4 ± 12.0 μg m−3, which ranked the highest among the water-soluble ions analyzed. Seasonal variations of PM2.5 and its major chemical components were significant, most of them with high values in winter and the lowest values in summer, especially with heavier PM2.5 events (more than 200 μg/m3) in December. SIA and OC on polluted days were 2.1–2.3 times higher than those of on clean days. It was estimated that Fe, Li, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca and Sr were emitted from crustal sources and Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and V were emitted from anthropogenic emissions using the EF values. Analysis using the tracer and PCA/MLR revealed that vehicle exhausts were the most important source of PM2.5, which contributed 26.9% of PM2.5 over the whole study period. This study provides detailed composition data and first comprehensive analysis of PM2.5 in Xinxiang during a whole year.

The levels, spatial variation, congener profiles, impact factors, and ecological risk of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the sediment from the Yellow River of Henan section, China, were investigated in this paper. Total concentration of 31 PCBs and seven indicator PCBs varied from ND to 1015 pg g-1 and ND to 423 pg g-1, respectively. Compared with other aquatic environments around China, PCB levels in the studied area were relatively low. Spatial variations revealed that tributaries possessed higher PCB levels, in comparison to mainstream, which acted as input sources of PCBs in the mainstream. The homolog profiles were dominated by lighter PCBs (Tri-PentaCBs), contributing above 70% of total PCBs. Correlation analysis between PCB concentrations and total organic carbon indicated that local input or atmospheric deposition was the primary controls of spatial variation of PCBs. According to simple sediment quality guidelines (SQG), the risks posed by PCBs in the sediments might be negligible.

Halogenated flame retardants (HFRs), mainly encompassing polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), dechlorane plus (DP) and emerging bromine flame retardants (EBFRs), are widely employed nowadays in daily lives. However, limited knowledge has been gained to date on the concentrations and distributions of HFRs in particular within certain regions. In the present study, legacy and emerging HFRs were systematically measured in suspended particle matter (SPM) and sediments collected in 2014 from the middle and lower reach of the Yellow River in Henan province. The total concentrations of HFRs in SPM among the three seasons were 42.2±91.2ngg-1, which was far higher than the corresponding values of HFRs in sediments (1.82±2.94ngg-1). In this study, PBDEs, DP and EBFRs in sediment almost exhibited relatively lower levels as compared to those found in other studies, where the limited usage of HFRs in the middle and lower stream of the Yellow River was probably the major impact factor. EBFR was the predominate pollutant from SPM and sediments in most of the sampling sites, suggesting that EBFRs were widely used nowadays as substitute materials of 'old' FRs. The mean concentration values of DBDPE/BDE-209 in SPM and sediments were apparently higher than those of previous studies. Furthermore, it is interesting to reveal that herein almost all of the HFR concentrations were unrelated to the population and GDP, which might be attributed to the characteristics of 'elevated stream' of the Yellow River as well as the complex river systems in Henan province.

Mercury (Hg), six alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens), and their metabolite, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), were simultaneously studied in sediments from the upper Huai River, Henan Province, China. There were higher concentrations of Hg in the surface sediments from the Huai River during the moderate precipitation season (MPS②) as compared to the minimal precipitation (MPS①) and high precipitation seasons (HPS), and as compared to core sediments. The Hg values in all sediments were above the background value. The Hg contents in the tributaries were much higher than those in the mainstream. The concentrations of ∑parabens in the core sediments ranged from 2.45 to 22.2 ng/g while the concentrations of PHBA ranged from 11.3 to 155 ng/g. Methylparaben (MeP) and propylparaben (PrP) were the most commonly detected parabens. Total organic carbon (TOC) and black carbon (BC) played important roles in the distribution of Hg in the surface sediments during the minimal precipitation and high precipitation seasons and affect the distribution of Hg and parabens in core sediments. Sand (>63 μm) was another factor affecting the distribution of Hg and parabens in core sediments. The concentrations of PHBA and Hg in core sediments were positively correlated. Temporal records of Hg and parabens in core sediments reflected local social changes. Hg content in the surface sediments during the MPS② was associated with relatively high ecological risks while parabens in the core sediments were associated with low level risks.

The concentrations and compositions of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in sediments and suspended particulate matters (SPM) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were investigated. The mean concentrations of PCNs were 7.15 ± 19.3 ng/g dw in the sediment and 38.1 ± 58.4 ng/g dw in SPM. Tri- and tetra-CNs were the dominant homologue groups in most samples. CN-23 was the predominant congener at all sites, and its presence may be attributed to coal combustion. Combustion indicators showed that local combustion source was the main contributor to the PCN concentrations. These sources were related to the energy structure of this region, where coal is the most important energy resource. Human activities, including industrial thermal processes and reservoir construction, were major factors affecting PCN levels and hydrological conditions, which strongly influenced the environmental fate of PCNs in the Yellow River.

The pollution characteristics of PM2.5 and correlation analysis with meteorological parameters in Xinxiang during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Prime Ministers’ Meeting were investigated. During the whole meeting, nine PM2.5 samples were collected at a suburban site of Xinxiang, and the average concentration of PM2.5 was 122.28 μg m−3. NO3 −, NH4 +, SO4 2− accounted for 56.8% of the total water-soluble ions. In addition, with an exception of Cl−, all of water-soluble ions decreased during the meeting. Total concentrations of crustal elements ranged from 6.53 to 185.86 μg m−3, with an average concentration of 52.51 μg m−3, which accounted for 82.5% of total elements. The concentrations of organic carbon and elemental carbon were 7.71 and 1.52 μg m−3, respectively, lower than those before and after the meeting. It is indicated that during the meeting, limiting motor vehicles is to reduce exhaust emissions, delay heating is to reduce the fossil fuel combustion, and other measures are to reduce the concentration of PM2.5. The directly dispersing by mixing layer height increase and the indirectly reducing the formation of secondary aerosol by low relative humidity, and these are the only two key removing mechanisms of PM2.5 in Xinxiang during the meeting.

Twenty-four PM 2.5 samples were collected at a suburban site of Xinxiang during Chinese Spring Festival (SF) in 2015. 10 water-soluble ions, 19 trace elements and 8 fractions of carbonaceous species in PM 2.5 were analyzed. Potential sources of PM 2.5 were quantitatively apportioned using principal component analysis (PCA)-multivariate linear regressions (MLR). The threat of heavy metals in PM 2.5 was assessed using incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR). During the whole period, serious regional haze pollution persisted, the average concentration of PM 2.5 was 111 ± 54 μg m − 3 , with 95.8% and 79.2% of the daily samples exhibiting higher PM 2.5 concentrations than the national air quality standard I and II. Chemical species declined due to holiday effect with the exception of K, Fe, Mg, Al and K + , Cl − , which increased on Chinese New Year (CNY)'s Eve and Lantern Festival in 2015, indicating the injection of firework burning particles in certain short period. PM 2.5 mass closure showed that secondary inorganic species were the dominant fractions of PM 2.5 over the entire sampling (37.3%). 72-hour backward trajectory clusters indicated that most serious air pollution occurred when air masses transported from the Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Zhengzhou. Health risk assessment revealed that noncancerous effects of heavy metals in PM 2.5 of Xinxiang were unlikely happened, while lifetime cancer risks of heavy metals obviously exceeded the threshold, which might have a cancer risk for residents in Xinxiang. This study provided detailed composition data and first comprehensive analysis of PM 2.5 during the Spring Festival period in Xinxiang.

Seventeen PM2.5 samples were collected at Xinxiang during winter in 2014. Nine water-soluble ions, 19 trace elements and eight fractions of carbonaceous species in PM2.5 were analyzed. PM2.5 concentrations and elements species during different periods with different pollution situations were compared. The threat of heavy metals in PM2.5 was assessed using incremental lifetime cancer risk. During the whole period, serious regional haze pollution persisted, and the averaged concentration of PM2.5 was 168.5 μg m−3, with 88.2 % of the daily samples exhibiting higher PM2.5 concentrations than the national air quality standard II. The high NO3 −/SO4 2− ratio suggested that vehicular exhaust made an important contribution to atmospheric pollution. All of organic carbon and elemental carbon ratios in this study were above 2.0 for PM2.5, which might reflect the combined contributions from coal combustion, motor vehicle exhaust and biomass burning. Mean 96-h backward trajectory clusters indicated that more serious air pollution occurred when air masses transported from the Hebei, Shanxi and Zhengzhou. The concentrations of the water-soluble ions and trace elements on haze days were 2 and 1.8 times of those on clear days. The heavy metals in PM2.5 might not cause non-cancerous health issues by exposure through the human respiratory system. However, lifetime cancer risks of heavy metals obviously exceeded the threshold (10−6) and might have a cancer risk for residents in Xinxiang. This study provided detailed composition data and comprehensive analysis of PM2.5 during the serious haze pollution period and their potential impact on human health in Xinxiang.

Particle size is a significant parameter which determines the environmental fate and the behavior of dust particles and, implicitly, the exposure risk of humans to particle-bound contaminants. Currently, the influence of dust particle size on the occurrence and seasonal variation of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) remains unclear. While HBCDs are now restricted by the Stockholm Convention, information regarding HBCD contamination in indoor dust in China is still limited. We analyzed composite dust samples from offices (n = 22), hotels (n = 3), kindergartens (n = 2), dormitories (n = 40), and main roads (n = 10). Each composite dust sample (one per type of microenvironment) was fractionated into 9 fractions (F1-F9: 2000-900, 900-500, 500-400, 400-300, 300-200, 200-100, 100-74, 74-50, and