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Fugitive dust particles are important contributors to urban ambient particulate matter (PM), while their emissions have been ignored or greatly underestimated in previous studies, leading to the underestimation of PM concentrations and health impacts. Thus, studying the morphology of fugitive dust, taking appropriate dust-suppression measures, and evaluating dust-suppression effects are crucial to the prevention and control of fugitive dust. In this study, we investigated the morphology and composition of dust particles from different dust sources, including bare land, stock dump, construction, and road dust. Afterwards, different dust-suppression measures including fence interception nets, bare ground mesh nets, and road dust-suppressants were undertaken to simulate and analyze their dust-suppression effects. Finally, the height concentration profiling method was used to comprehensively evaluate the on-site dust-suppression effect, which can not only accurately evaluate the dust-suppression effect, but also predict the dust-suppression ability in a wide range. Gaining insights into the morphology and composition of dust from representative sources is an important step forward to prevent and control fugitive dust, and selecting an appropriate dust-suppression effect evaluation method will provide a beneficial guide for effectively controlling PM pollution in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coarse (PM2.5-10) and fine (PM2.5) atmospheric particulate samples were collected in summer and winter during 2005-2007 in the juncture belt between urban and rural areas of Beijing. Elements, ions, organic/elemental carbon (OC/EC) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined to obtain some latest information about the particulate pollution in the juncture belt of Beijing. Particulate matter levels at this site were high as compared with the levels at other sampling sites in Beijing. Pollution elements, secondary ions and PAHs were enriched in fine particles rather than in coarse particles. An obvious seasonal variation of the chemical composition of PM was observed. Source apportionment results showed that secondary components were the largest mass contributor of PM2.5 accounting for 28%; whereas soil-related sources were the largest contributor of PM2.5-10, explaining about 49% of the total mass. The abnormal levels of soil heavy metals at the electronic waste disassembly site in the upwind villages suggested the potential impact of such activities to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]