Inhalation exposure to size-segregated fine particles and particulate PAHs for the population burning biomass fuels in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau area

Ye Huang; Jinze Wang; Nan Fu; Shanshan Zhang; Wei Du; YuanChen Chen; Zhenglu Wang; Meng Qi; Wei Wang; Qirui Zhong; Yonghong Duan; Guofeng Shen; Shu Tao

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.111959

Inhalation exposure to size-segregated fine particles and particulate PAHs for the population burning biomass fuels in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau area

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Mar 15:211:111959. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.111959. Epub 2021 Jan 25.

Authors

Ye Huang¹, Jinze Wang², Nan Fu³, Shanshan Zhang², Wei Du⁴, YuanChen Chen⁵, Zhenglu Wang⁶, Meng Qi⁷, Wei Wang⁷, Qirui Zhong⁷, Yonghong Duan⁸, Guofeng Shen⁷, Shu Tao⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
² Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
³ School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: wdu@geo.ecnu.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Environment, Research Centre of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China.
⁶ College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
⁷ Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁸ College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi, 030801, China.

PMID: 33486383
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.111959

Abstract

Indoor biomass burning produces large amounts of small particles and hazardous contaminants leading to severe air pollution and potentially high health risks associated with inhalation exposure. Personal samplers provide more accurate estimates of inhalation exposure. In this study, inhalation exposure to size-segregated particles and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for the biomass user was studied by deploying personal samplers. The study found that daily PM_2.5 inhalation exposure level was as high as 121 ± 96 μg/m³, and over 84% was finer PM_1.0. For PAHs, the exposure level was 113 ± 188 ng/m³, with over 77% in PM_1.0. High molecular weight PAHs with larger toxic potentials enriched in smaller particles resulting in much high risks associated with PAHs inhalation exposure. Indoor exposure contributed to ~80% of the total inhalation exposure as a result of high indoor air pollution and longer residence spent indoor. The highest exposure risk was found for the male smoker who conducted cooking activities at home.

Keywords: Biomass use; PAHs; Particulate matter; Personal exposure; Size distribution.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Air Pollution / analysis
Air Pollution / statistics & numerical data*
Air Pollution, Indoor / analysis
Biomass
Coal / analysis
Cooking
Dust
Environmental Monitoring*
Housing
Humans
Inhalation Exposure / analysis
Inhalation Exposure / statistics & numerical data*
Particle Size
Particulate Matter / analysis*
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / analysis*
Rural Population
Tibet

Substances

Air Pollutants
Coal
Dust
Particulate Matter
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons