Objective To study sources apportionment of atmospheric inhalable particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Alashan League, and to provide scientific evidence for air pollution abatement and health protection.
Methods Atmospheric particle samples of PM10 and PM2.5 were collected in Alashan League from April 26th to June 11th, 2008. Chemical elements in aerosol samples were detected, and the data were processed by factor analysis and enrichment factor analysis for the purpose of particulate source identification.
Results In Alashan, the source apportionment results derived from the factor analysis model for PM10 were soil dust/construction dust/burning oil dust (principal factor 1), and industry dust/vehicle emissions (principal factor 2), and the variance contributions of principal factor 1 and 2 were 66.210% and 21.219%, respectively; for PM2.5 were soil dust/construction dust (principal factor 1), burning oil dust/soil dust (principal factor 2), industry dust/vehicle emissions (principal factor 3), and the variance contributions of principal factor 1, 2, and 3 were 35.781%, 32.064%, and 22.062%, respectively. The enrichment factors of heavy metal elements (such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) in PM2.5 were higher than those in PM10 in both sand-dust and non-sand-dust weathers. Compared to non-sand-dust weather, the enrichment factors of heavy metal elements (such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) in PM10 and PM2.5 were lower in sand-dust weather, but the enrichment factors of mineral metal elements showed limited changes.
Conclusion Sources of PM10 and PM2.5 in Alashan League are mainly from nature. Human activities have little influence on it.
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