Seasonal Trends in and Influence of Meteorological Conditions on The Concentrations of PAHs in Two Urban Areas of KOREA

摘要

Daily air samples were collected between October 1998 and December 1999 in two cities of different urban scale; Seoul and Chongju, Korea. Meteorological parameters and concentrations of ambient air pollutants (PM_(10), SO2, O3, CO, and NO_x) were also measured at the sites. A PUF (PolyUrethane Foam) sampler was used to collect both particulate- and gas-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on a quartz fiber filter and with polyurethane foam plug, respectively. Samples collected on the quartz fiber filters and PUF plugs were extracted with dichloromethane by ultrasonication and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) methods, respectively. The extracts were concentrated using a Zymark evaporator to a volume of 1 mL and used to analyze by GC-MS sixteen PAH species described in the USEPA method 610. This paper reports on temporal trends and profiles in gas- and particle-phase PAH concentrations measured at two locations. The total PAH concentrations in Seoul and Chongju were 89.3±74.3 and 46.8±30.6 ng/m~3, respectively. Clear seasonal variation in PAH levels was observed to have substantially higher levels during the winter season. The data were also compared to those reported in other urban studies. In addition, the influence of local meteorological conditions on PAH concentrations and relationship between PAH levels and other air pollutants were analyzed.