Atmospheric levels of benzo[<i>a</i>]pyrene observed at urban and island sites in Northern Kyushu area of Japan between 2009 and 2012

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  • 2009～2012年北部九州の都市と離島における大気中のベンゾ[<i>a</i>]ピレン濃度
  • 2009~2012年北部九州の都市と離島における大気中のベンゾ[a]ピレン濃度
  • 2009~2012ネン ホクブ キュウシュウ ノ トシ ト リトウ ニ オケル タイキ チュウ ノ ベンゾ[a]ピレン ノウド

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Abstract

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is listed as a priority hazardous air pollutant by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, and it exists in particle matters emitted from Japan and those transported from other countries to Japan. In order to study the transport contribution to the BaP level observed over a large city of Kyushu Island, Japan, six intensive field campaigns were conducted between 2009 and 2012. BaP associated with total suspended particles was simultaneously observed at the Fukuoka City (FC) and Fukue Island (FI) sites. The average BaP levels observed at the FC and FI sites were 220±191 pg m-3 (n=74, n represents the number of samples) and 84±77 pg m-3 (n=73), respectively. Observations at the FI site confirmed that most BaP molecules exist in PM2.5. Since the FI site was remote from major emission sources, we assumed that the concentration of BaP transported from East Asian countries such as China and Japan to the Northern Kyushu area is observed at the FI site and that the sum of transported- and local-pollutant levels is observed at the FC site. These assumptions were checked using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon isomer ratios and meteorological data. From calculations based on these assumptions, we estimated that 47% of the BaP observed at the FC site was attributed to transport from outside the Northern Kyushu area. This is a first study based on the results of four-year observations to evaluate the transport contribution to the BaP level observed in a Japanese city with a population over one million.

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