PM 2.5 and Trace Elements in Underground Shopping Districts in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea

Soo Ran Won, In-Keun Shim, Jeonghoon Kim, Hyun Ah Ji, Yumi Lee, Jongchun Lee and Young Sung Ghim
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Soo Ran Won: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
In-Keun Shim: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
Jeonghoon Kim: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
Hyun Ah Ji: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
Yumi Lee: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
Jongchun Lee: Indoor Environment and Noise Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
Young Sung Ghim: Department of Environmental Science, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, Gyeonggi 17035, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: We measured PM 2.5 in 41 underground shopping districts (USDs) in the Seoul metropolitan area from June to November 2017, and associated 18 trace elements to determine the sources and assess the respiratory risks. The PM 2.5 concentrations were 18.0 ± 8.0 μg/m 3 inside USDs, which were lower than 25.2 ± 10.6 μg/m 3 outside. We identified five sources such as indoor miscellanea, soil dust, vehicle exhaust/cooking, coal combustion, and road/subway dust, using factor analysis. Almost 67% of the total trace element concentration resulted from soil dust. Soil dust contribution increased with the number of stores because of fugitive dust emissions due to an increase in passers-by. Vehicle exhaust/cooking contribution was higher when the entrances of the USDs were closed, whereas coal combustion contribution was higher when the entrances of the USDs were open. Although miscellanea and coal combustion contributions were 3.4% and 0.7%, respectively, among five elements with cancer risk, Cr and Ni were included in miscellanea, and Pb, Cd, and As were included in coal combustion. The excess cancer risk (ECR) was the highest at 67 × 10 −6 for Cr, and the ECR for Pb was lower than 10 −6 , a goal of the United States Environmental Protection Agency for hazardous air pollutants.

Keywords: indoor air quality; trace element sources; outdoor influence; anthropogenic influence; cancer risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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