Abstract
The role of particulate matter (PM) in causing adverse health effects on the human body has been confirmed by many studies, because its redox components may cause in situ production of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the human body. The capacity of PM to deplete antioxidants and generate ROS is defined as oxidative potential (OP). However, few studies have explored on the OP of PM in different regions of China, especially in atmospheric background regions. In order to explore the OP of water-soluble components of PM in the background area of the Yangtze River Delta, we collected PM2.5 and PM1 in Lin’an in winter and summer. The OP of PM in Lin’an was analyzed by dithiothreitol (DTT) and ascorbic acid (AA) analysis, and the contribution of long-distance air mass transmission to the OP of PM in the area was analyzed by backward trajectory. This study showed that the OP of PM in Lin’an was still at a relatively high value of exposure (summer, OPDTTv, 0.71 ± 0.25 nmol∙min−1∙m−3, OPAAv, 0.37 ± 0.29 nmol∙min−1∙m−3; winter, OPDTTv, 1.24 ± 0.33 nmol∙min−1∙m−3, OPAAv, 0.32 ± 0.40 nmol∙min−1∙m−3) and PM1 in Lin’an contributed a lot to the OP of PM2.5, all above 60%. There were significant seasonal variations in the OP of PM, OPDTTv was higher in winter, as it was relevant to the high mass concentration of PM, while OPAAv was slightly higher in summer, as it was affected by photochemical reactions in summer. Local emissions contributed more in summer, and long-distance transportation from other regions contributed more in winter. Therefore, we suggest paying more attention to the impact of PM1 on health effects, controlling local emissions in summer and controlling the input of external sources to reduce the mass concentration of PM in winter and adverse health effects of PM.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of OP study are available from the author chenmd@nuist.edu.cn on reasonable request. The backward trajectory, atmospheric pollutant, and other data used in this study are available at ftp://arlftp.arlhq.noaa.gov/pub/, https://quotsoft.net/air/, or in listed references.
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Funding
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 21976094, 21871144); the National Key Research and Development Project (grant number 2018YFC0213802); and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (no. 2019M661790).
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Conceptualization, Z.L.; data curation, D.N. and X.G.; formal analysis, Z.L.; funding acquisition, M.C.; investigation, Z.L. and X.M.; methodology, Z.L.; project administration, M.C.; resources, M.C.; supervision, D.N. and P.G.; validation, X.M and R.G.; writing—original draft, Z.L.; writing—review and editing, M.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Highlights
• The OP value of Lin'an PM2.5 was still at a very high exposure level, and PM1 contributed a lot to it.
• The OPDTT and OPAA of particulate matter had different seasonal characteristics.
• The OPDTT and OPAA in summer were affected by photochemical reactions.
• In summer local emission contributed more to the OP values in Lin’an and in winter long-distance transport contributed more.
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Li, Z., Nie, D., Chen, M. et al. Seasonal variation of oxidative potential of water-soluble components in PM2.5 and PM1 in the Yangtze River Delta, China. Air Qual Atmos Health 14, 1825–1836 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-021-01056-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-021-01056-0