Ambient Air Particulate Matter in the Yangtze River Delta Region, China: Spatial, Annual, and Seasonal Variations and Health Risks

This study provides the spatial, annual, and seasonal variations and the related human health risk assessment of PM10 in the ambient air of Yangtze River Delta Region (YRDR). Daily average PM10 concentrations of the 25 cities in this region in the previous 5 years (2005-2009) ranged from 52.8 to 112.1 mu g/m(3). PM10 levels showed a decreasing trend for the major cities in the YRDR during this period. PM10 mass was highest in winter (110.5 mu g/m(3)), followed by spring (95.9 mu g/m(3)) and summer (85.5 mu g/m(3)), with lowest concentration in autumn (78.2 mu g/m(3)). For the potential health risk analysis, the residents were divided into four age categories, namely, infants, children (1 year), children (8-10 years), and adults. The analysis took into account age-specific breathing rates, body weights for different age categories. Risk analyses showed that the potential health risks due to respiratory disease were highest for all age categories in Xuzhou, followed by Yancheng, Hangzhou, and Nanjing, and the citizens in Zhoushan had the lowest health risks. The new information about the relationship between health risks and air pollution in YRDR may have implications for local environmental and social policies.