Airborne PM10 and metals from multifarious sources in an industrial complex area

The emission characteristics of airborne PM10 in the Sihwa and Banwol Industrial Complex Area of Korea are highly complicated because of diverse man-made activities (about 4000 stacks). The measurements of 16 metals were undertaken using collision cell technology-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CCT-ICP-MS) from two industrial sites and one reference site in the vicinity of a residential area. Based on our measurements, we attempted to characterize the pollution status of PM10 and metals in the study area. The spatial differences in the PM10 and metal levels were significant except for the crustal and marine derived metals. Temporal variations in the PM10 and most metal data were fairly distinct so that their highest concentrations generally occur in the fall or spring, while the lowest in the summer. The daily concentrations of most metals and PM10 showed strong or moderate correlations among the three sites; however, results of conditional probability function (CPF) obviously accounted for the influences of industrial activities. Thus, concentrations of airborne PM10 and anthropogenic metals in residential area adjacent to Sihwa and Banwol (S/B) industrial areas were tightly affected by industrial activities.