Sydney particle characterisation study PM2.5 source apportionment in the Sydney Region between 2000 and 2014
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Date
2016
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Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Abstract
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has been applying accelerator based nuclear techniques to the characterisation of fine PM2.5 ambient air pollution since the early 1990s. Over the decades large long-term databases have been acquired at dozens of sites both in Australia and internationally on the PM2.5 mass together with over 23 different elemental and chemical species that make up this fine particle pollution. In this study we used data previously collected by ANSTO from four of our long-term sampling sites covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014. Positive matrix factorisation (PMF) source apportionment techniques were applied to this data to identify seven different source components or fingerprints that make up the measured total PM2.5mass at each of these four sites. The primary aim of this study was to: - convert the existing 15-year PM2.5 mass and elemental datasets for four given sites in the Sydney basin into identifiable source fingerprints - quantify the absolute and the percentage contribution of each of these fingerprints to the total fine PM2.5 mass - provide seasonal and annual variations for each of the source fingerprints - provide a readily accessible database containing the daily source fingerprints and their contributions covering the 15-year period from 2000–2014 for four given sites in the Sydney basin if possible, identify and quantify the major contributors of fine particle pollution to the ambient air quality in Sydney. Typically fine particles were collected over 24-hour periods twice a week (104 filters per year) at Lucas Heights, Richmond, Mascot and Liverpool sites over a 15-year period from 2000 to 2014. In all, around 6000 sampling days are represented by this study. Each of these filters was analysed for the 23 elemental and chemical species: hydrogen (H), sodium (Na), al uminium (Al), silicon (Si), phosphorous (P), sulfur (S), chlorine (Cl), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), bromium (Br), lead (Pb), bl ack carbon (BC) and total nitrogen (TotN) to concentrations down to 1ngm–3 of air sampled. TotN is the total nitrogen from ammonium and nitrate ions. © 2016 Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
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Keywords
New South Wales, Australia, Particles, Fallout, Accelerators, Air pollution
Citation
Cohen, D. D., Atancio, A. J., Stelcer, E., & Garton, D. (2016). Sydney particle characterisation study PM2.5 source apportionment in the Sydney Region between 2000 and 2014. Lucas Heights, NSW: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.