Peter K.K. Louie

Characteristics and health impacts of VOCs and carbonyls associated with residential cooking activities in Hong Kong.

Cooking emission samples collected in two residential kitchens were compared where towngas (denoted as dwelling A) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (denoted as dwelling B) were used as cooking fuels. A total of 50 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were quantified during the 90 min cooking periods. None of any carcinogenic compounds like formaldehyde, acetaldehyde or benzene are detected in the raw fuels, confirming that those are almost entirely derived due to cooking activity alone. Alkenes accounted for approximately 53% of the total measured VOCs collected at dwelling A, while alkanes contributed approximately 95% of the VOCs at dwelling B during the cooking periods. The concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and toluene also increased during the cooking periods. The total amount of carbonyls emitted from the cooking processes at dwelling A (2708 μg) is three times higher than that at dwelling B (793 μg). Acetaldehyde was the most abundant carbonyl at the dwelling A but its emission was insignificant at the dwelling B. Carcinogenic risks on chronic exposure to formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and benzene for housewives and domestic helpers were evaluated. Formaldehyde accounts for 68% and close to 100% of lifetime cancer risks at dwelling A and B, respectively.

Chemically-speciated on-road PM2.5 motor vehicle emission factors in Hong Kong.

PM(2.5) (particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5microm) was measured in different microenvironments of Hong Kong (including one urban tunnel, one Hong Kong/Mainland boundary roadside site, two urban roadside sites, and one urban ambient site) in 2003. The concentrations of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble ions, and up to 40 elements (Na to U) were determined. The average PM(2.5) mass concentrations were 229+/-90, 129+/-95, 69+/-12, 49+/-18microg m(-3) in the urban tunnel, cross boundary roadside, urban roadside, and urban ambient environments, respectively. Carbonaceous particles (sum of organic material [OM] and EC) were the dominant constituents, on average, accounting for approximately 82% of PM(2.5) emissions in the tunnel, approximately 70% at the three roadside sites, and approximately 48% at the ambient site, respectively. The OC/EC ratios were 0.6+/-0.2 and 0.8+/-0.1 at the tunnel and roadside sites, respectively, suggesting carbonaceous aerosols were mainly from vehicle exhausts. Higher OC/EC ratio (1.9+/-0.7) occurred at the ambient site, indicating contributions from secondary organic aerosols. The PM(2.5) emission factor for on-road diesel-fueled vehicles in the urban area of Hong Kong was 257+/-31mg veh(-1) km(-1), with a composition of approximately 51% EC, approximately 26% OC, and approximately 9% SO(4)(=). The other inorganic ions and elements made up approximately 11% of the total PM(2.5) emissions. OC composed the largest fraction (approximately 51%) in gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) emissions, followed by EC (approximately 19%). Diesel engines showed higher emission rates than did gasoline and LPG engines for most pollutants, except for V, Br, Sb, and Ba.

PM1.0 and PM2.5 Characteristics in the Roadside Environment of Hong Kong

Daily mass concentrations of PM 1.0 (particles less than 1.0 μm in diameter), PM 2.5 (particles less than 2.5 μm in diameter), organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) were measured from January through May 2004 at a heavily trafficked sampling site in Hong Kong (PU). The average concentrations for PM 1.0 and PM 2.5 were 35.9 ± 12.4 μ g cm − 3 and 52.3 ± 18.3 μ g cm − 3 . Carbonaceous aerosols were the dominant species in fine particles, accounting for ∼ 45.7% of PM 1.0 and ∼ 44.4% of PM 2.5 . During the study period, seven fine-particle episodes occurred, due to the influence of long-range transport of air masses from mainland China. PM 1.0 and PM 2.5 responded in similar ways; i.e., with elevated mass and OC concentrations in those episode days. During the sampling period, PM 1.0 OC and EC generally behaved similarly to the carbonaceous aerosols in PM 2.5 , regardless of seasonal variations and influence by regional pollutions. The low and relatively constant OC/EC ratios in PM 1.0 and PM 2.5 indicated that vehicular emissions were major sources of carbonaceous aerosols. PM 1.0 and PM 2.5 had the same dominant sources of vehicular emissions in winter, while in spring PM 2.5 was more influenced by PM 1 − 2.5 (particles 1–2.5 μ m in diameter) that did not form from vehicle exhausts. Therefore, PM 1.0 was a better indicator for vehicular emissions at the Roadside Station.

Source apportionment of ambient volatile organic compounds in Hong Kong.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at four stations with different environments in Hong Kong (HK) during two sampling campaigns. Positive matrix factorization was applied to characterize major VOC sources in HK. Nine sources were identified, and the spatial and seasonal variations of their contributions were derived. The most significant local VOC sources are vehicle and marine vessel exhausts or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at different stations. Vehicle- and marine vessel-related sources accounted for 2.9-12.7ppbv in 2002-2003 and increased to 4.3-15.2ppbv in 2006-2007. Different from the emission inventory, solvent-related sources only contributed 11- 19% at both sampling campaigns. Therefore, emission control from transport sector should be prioritized to alleviate ambient local VOC levels. Additionally, the contribution of aged VOC, which roughly represents contributions from regional and super-regional transport, also showed moderate increase during the four years, indicating cooperation with environmental authorities in the Pearl River Delta and beyond should be strengthened. All the anthropogenic sources contribute most to Yuen Long and least to Tap Mun. However, Tap Mun exhibited different trends in comparison with the other three stations, especially for sources of vehicle and marine vessel exhausts, LPG and paint solvents. When the local source contributions were incorporated with wind data to derive the directional dependences of sources, we may conclude that the rapid development of Yantian Container Terminal, the associated emissions from marine vessels around the Terminal and the on-site activities were likely responsible for the distinct VOC features at Tap Mun. The current impact from the Terminal is mainly concentrated in the northeastern corner of HK; however, it has the potential threat to other locations if the Terminal continues to expand in such a rapid speed in the coming years. More stringent VOC control measures on activities related to the operation of the Terminal is therefore highly recommended.

Which emission sources are responsible for the volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere of Pearl River Delta

A field measurement study of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was simultaneously carried out in October-December 2007 at an inland Pearl River Delta (PRD) site and a Hong Kong urban site. A receptor model i.e. positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the data for the apportionment of pollution sources in the region. Five and six sources were identified in Hong Kong and the inland PRD region, respectively. The major sources identified in the region were vehicular emissions, solvent use and biomass burning, whereas extra sources found in inland PRD included liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline evaporation. In Hong Kong, the vehicular emissions made the most significant contribution to ambient VOCs (48 ± 4%), followed by solvent use (43 ± 2%) and biomass burning (9 ± 2%). In inland PRD, the largest contributor to ambient VOCs was solvent use (46 ± 1%), and vehicular emissions contributed 26 ± 1% to ambient VOCs. The percentage contribution of vehicular emission in Hong Kong in 2007 is close to that obtained in 2001-2003, whereas in inland PRD the contribution of solvent use to ambient VOCs in 2007 was at the upper range of the results obtained in previous studies and twice the 2006 PRD emission inventory. The findings advance our knowledge of ozone precursors in the PRD region.

Composition and sources of carbonaceous aerosols at three contrasting sites in Hong Kong

[1] A significant fraction of the fine particulate matter in Hong Kong is made up of organic carbon. In order to quantitatively assess the contributions of various sources to carbonaceous aerosol in Hong Kong, a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model in combination with organic tracers was employed. Organic tracers including n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), steranes, hopanes, resin acids, cholesterol, levoglucosan, and picene in PM2.5 collected from three air monitoring sites located at roadside, urban, and rural areas in Hong Kong are quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in the present study. Analyses of some overlapping species from two separate laboratories will be compared for the first time. Spatial and seasonal source contributions to organic carbon (OC) in PM2.5 from up to nine air pollution sources are assessed, including diesel engine exhaust, gasoline engine exhaust, meat cooking, cigarette smoke, biomass burning, road dust, vegetative detritus, coal combustion, and natural gas combustion. Diesel engine exhaust dominated fine organic carbon in Hong Kong (57 ± 13% at urban sites and 25 ± 2% at the rural site). Other sources that play an important role are meat cooking and biomass burning, which can account for as much as 14% of fine organic carbon. The primary sources identified by this technique explained 49%, 79%, and 94% of the measured fine organic carbon mass concentration at the rural, the urban, and the roadside sites, respectively. The unexplained fine OC is likely due to secondary organic aerosol formation.

Source analysis of volatile organic compounds by positive matrix factorization in urban and rural environments in Beijing

[1] This paper applies advance receptor model positive matrix factorization (PMF) source analysis to 1-h resolution VOC data collected at Yufa (rural site) and Peking University, or PKU (urban site), in Beijing. A range of major VOC sources was identified, including vehicle emissions, liquefied petroleum gas, coal combustion, and biogenic emissions. Vehicle activities contributed approximately 62% of VOC loading and 55% of ozone forming potential at the PKU site, compared to 38% of VOC loading and 42% of ozone forming potential at Yufa. These results indicate that the control of vehicle emissions is essential to alleviating VOC pollution, particularly in urban Beijing. We found that VOC emission strengths are relatively consistent throughout the day in the rural area; variation of mixing height therefore is a controlling factor for ground-level VOC concentration. In the urban area, both vehicle activity and variation of mixing height strongly impact VOC levels. Local sources within Beijing appeared to contribute most of the VOCs recorded at both urban and rural areas. However, as some of the VOC species are quite reactive, VOC emitted from distant sources would have been depleted during transportation, concurrent with the formation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and sulfate. Such depletion would mean that this source apportionment analysis would tend to overestimate the ozone forming capacity of local VOC sources compared to emissions from distant sources. Nevertheless, this study illustrates that high-resolution VOC measurements, especially those with a sampling frequency on the scale of less than 1 day, combined with PMF, can make a strong contribution to our understanding of pollutant emissions and transport characteristics and is a useful tool with which to formulate effective pollution control strategies.

A study of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in the atmosphere of Hong Kong

A total of 27 ambient air samples of were collected from six locations in Hong kong during the period of January-August, 2000 and analysed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). In all sampling locations, higher concentrations of PCDDs/PCDFs, ranging from 0.03 to 0.43 pg I-TEQ/m3 were measured in winter months (January and March) than in the summer months (July and August) of concentrations at 0.018-0.025 pg I-TEQ/m3. These concentrations are similar to annual ranges reported earlier for two Hong Kong urban sites and other urban cities in Asia. Europe, and the United States. Despite significant seasonal variations in ambient air concentrations of PCDD/Fs (expressed in I-TEQ) were observed, the congener profiles of all the samples in this study period were similar, with OCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD, OCDF and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF being the predominant species. However, the homologue profiles for the samples collected at the six locations of this study were found to display significantly different spatial and seasonal trends.

Street-level concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and suspended particulate matter in Hong Kong

Abstract The concentrations of respirable suspended particulates (PM10), fine suspended particulates (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were measured in various locations over the territory of Hong Kong. In order to study the contributions of these pollutants from motor vehicles and their characteristics, the attention was focused on the roadside, street-level concentrations. A statistical analysis of the sampling results was conducted to obtain general characteristics of the roadside particulate and nitrogen dioxide pollution and to investigate the effects of traffic volume and meteorological factors on the pollution levels. High correlation coefficients are found between PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 concentration.

VOCs and OVOCs distribution and control policy implications in Pearl River Delta region, China

Abstract Ambient air measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) were conducted and characterised during a two-year grid study in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of southern China. The present grid study pioneered the systematic investigation of the nature and characteristics of complex VOC and OVOC sources at a regional scale. The largest contributing VOCs, accounting over 80% of the total VOCs mixing ratio, were toluene, ethane, ethyne, propane, ethene, butane, benzene, pentane, ethylbenzene, and xylenes. Sub-regional VOC spatial characteristics were identified, namely: i) relatively fresh pollutants, consistent with elevated vehicular and industrial activities, around the PRD estuary; and ii) a concentration gradient with higher mixing ratios of VOCs in the west as compared with the eastern part of PRD. Based on alkyl nitrate aging determination, a high hydroxyl radical (OH) concentration favoured fast hydrocarbon reactions and formation of locally produced ozone. The photochemical reactivity analysis showed aromatic hydrocarbons and alkenes together consisted of around 80% of the ozone formation potential (OFP) among the key VOCs. We also found that the OFP from OVOCs should not be neglected since their OFP contribution was more than one-third of that from VOCs alone. These findings support the choice of current air pollution control policy which focuses on vehicular sources but warrants further controls. Industrial emissions and VOCs emitted by solvents should be the next targets for ground-level ozone abatement.