Characteristic concentrations and isotopic composition of airborne lead at urban, rural and remote sites in western Korea. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Sanghee; Shin, Daechol; Han, Changhee; Choi, Kwang-Sik; Hur, Soon Do; Lee, Jooyoung; Byun, Do-Seong; Kim, Young-Taeg; Hong, Sungmin
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 254(2019)Part B
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Atmospheric pollution -- Lead -- Lead isotopes -- Source identification -- Western Korea; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113050
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Anthropogenic Pb emitted from East Asia, particularly China, is often long-range transported to the east by the prevailing westerlies. To characterize the geographical properties of varying atmospheric Pb concentrations by transboundary and domestic source(s)-related Pb in Korea, closely adjacent to China, the Al and Pb concentrations and the stable Pb isotopic composition were determined in the total suspended particles (TSP) collected at urban (IC), rural (TA), and remote background (JJ) sites in western Korea from August 2015 to October 2016. The annual average Pb concentrations were significantly higher in urban and rural areas (IC, 16.2 ng m −3 and TA, 11.1 ng m −3 ) than in remote area (JJ, 6.41 ng m −3 ), showing pronounced seasonal variations with relatively higher concentrations in winter and spring and lower concentrations in summer and autumn. Significantly high enrichment factors (EF) for Pb indicate that anthropogenic contributions are important for this toxic element in TSP. Coupling the Pb isotopic signatures with the air mass back trajectories identified the major potential source regions for individual samples. The results show that during winter, China was the dominant contributor, accounting for 92%, 82%, and 100% of the sampling periods at IC, TA, and JJ, respectively. The Chinese contribution decreased in summer and autumn, whereas the Korean contribution increased, according to the East Asian monsoon system. The Pb concentrations increased by 2.2 (IC), 1.2 (TA) and 1.4 (JJ) times when the Chinese contribution was dominant, compared to the Korea-dominant periods. The Pb isotopic systematics for the samples characterized by the dominant Korean contribution differed substantially between the three sites, implying that the relative importance of various domestic sources varied with geographical areas in western Korea. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Airborne Pb concentrations in Korea show distinct spatial and temporal variations. Higher levels of ambient Pb are observed during the winter and spring. Transboundary Pb from China is the dominant contributor to increased Pb levels. Pb isotopic signatures reflect the relative importance of different potential sources. Abstract : Airborne Pb concentrations and isotopic compositions in Korea show distinct geographical variations according to the relative contributions of the potential major sources.