Particulate Matter (PM) Sampling

December 2007 - January 2008, Huainan, Anhui

PM₁₀ /TSP and PM_2.5 /TSP sampling systems from Airmetric were set up and samples were collected at seven different locations (University and Farm locations) in Huainan city. The sampling period was from December 19, 2007, to January 5, 2008.

The results indicate the concentration of PM₁₀ is higher than the Chinese second class standard (GB3095-1996: 0.15mg/m3) in most test days at the University site. The concentration of PM_2.5 followed the same pattern as the concentration of PM₁₀. The concentration of PM_2.5 at the testing site is much higher than the USEPA standard (0.065mg/m3).

The concentration of PM is also based on weather conditions, such as temperature, humidity and wind direction. The lower concentration of PM was observed in the period between December 24 and 26, 2007. This was due to the rainy days during the test periods. The rest of the testing days were sunny days. The concentration of mercury in PM samples also was tested using the LECO mercury analyzer. The concentration of mercury in PM at the University site is much higher than that in the Farm site. This may be due to the fact that the location of the University is much closer to the power and chemical plants. Several additional sampling locations are planned and they will begin collecting PM samples during 2008.