Serious BTEX pollution in rural area of the North China Plain during winter season

Kankan Liu; Chenglong Zhang; Ye Cheng; Chengtang Liu; Hongxing Zhang; Gen Zhang; Xu Sun; Yujing Mu

doi:10.1016/j.jes.2014.05.056

Serious BTEX pollution in rural area of the North China Plain during winter season

J Environ Sci (China). 2015 Apr 1:30:186-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2014.05.056. Epub 2015 Jan 29.

Authors

Kankan Liu¹, Chenglong Zhang¹, Ye Cheng¹, Chengtang Liu¹, Hongxing Zhang¹, Gen Zhang¹, Xu Sun¹, Yujing Mu²

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
² Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: yjmu@rcees.ac.cn.

PMID: 25872726
DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2014.05.056

Abstract

Atmospheric BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) in a rural site of the North China Plain (NCP) were preliminarily investigated in winter, and the outdoor concentrations (25.8-236.0 μg/m3) were found to be much higher than those reported in urban regions. The pollution of BTEX inside a farmer's house was even more serious, with combined concentrations of 254.5-1552.9 μg/m3. Based on the ratio of benzene to toluene (1.17±0.34) measured, the serious BTEX pollution in the rural site was mainly ascribed to domestic coal combustion for heating during the winter season. With the enhancement of farmers' incomes in recent years, coal consumption by farmers in the NCP is rapidly increasing to keep their houses warm, and hence the serious air pollution in rural areas of the NCP during winter, including BTEX, should be paid great attention.

Keywords: BTEX; Coal combustion; Rural area.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Benzene Derivatives / analysis*
China
Environment
Environmental Monitoring*
Seasons*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Benzene Derivatives