M. Brauer et al., MEASUREMENT OF ACIDIC AEROSOL SPECIES IN EASTERN-EUROPE - IMPLICATIONS FOR AIR-POLLUTION EPIDEMIOLOGY, Environmental health perspectives, 103(5), 1995, pp. 482-488
A large number of studies have indicated associations between particul
ate air pollution and adverse health outcomes. Wintertime air pollutio
n in particular has been associated with increased mortality. Identifi
cation of causal constituents of inhalable particulate matter has been
elusive, although one candidate has been the acidity of che aerosol.
Here we report measurements of acidic aerosol species made for approxi
mately 1.5 years in Erfurt, Germany, and Sokolov, Czech Republic. In b
oth locations, the burning of high-sulfur coal is the primary source o
f ambient air pollution. Twenty-four-hour average measurements were ma
de for PM(10),[particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter (d(a))
less than or equal to 10 mu m(3)], as well as fine particle (d(a) < 2.
5 mu m) H+ and SO42- for the entire study. Additionally, separate day
and night measurements of fine particle H+, SO42- NO3-, and NH4+ and t
he gases, SO2, HNO3, HONO and NH3 were collected with an annular denud
er/filter pack system over a 7-month (late winter-summer) period with
additional measurements during pollution episodes the following winter
. At both sires, 24-hr SO2 (mean concentrations of 52 mu g/m(3), with
peak levels of > 585 mu g/m(3)) and PM(10) (mean concentration 60 mu g
/m(3)) concentrations were quire high. However, aerosol SO42- concentr
ations (mean concentration of approximately 10 mu g/m(3)) were not as
great as expected given the high SO2 concentrations, and acidity was v
ery low (mean concentration of < 1 mu g/m(3), with peak levels of only
7 mu g/m(3)). Low acidity is likely to be the result of NH3 neutraliz
ation and slow conversion of SO2 to SO42-. These data, along with evid
ence that aerosol acidity exposures are significantly lower than ambie
nt levels and the reported association between fine particulate air po
llution and health outcomes in regions where little aerosol acidity ha
s been measured, suggest that particulate acidity alone is not the pri
mary component defining fine particulate air pollution toxicity.