PM2.5 at a semi‐rural site near Beijing, China.

Breathing clean air is a human right still not accessible to everyone. In most of the world, the air is polluted, which affects both the environment and human health. To investigate the air pollution situation in a semi‐rural part of northern China, particles with a diameter below 2.5 μm (PM2.5) were collected in Changping, 40 km northwest of Beijing in May and June 2016. The particles were analyzed for mass, trace elements, and black carbon (BC). The mean PM2.5 mass was 49 μg/m3, ranging from 3.1 to 266 μg/m3. S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb were determined by Energy Dispersive X‐Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). They constituted 4% of the PM2.5 mass, with BC adding another 3%. Enrichment factor evaluation identified S, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb as the main anthropogenic contributors to environmental impact. A pollution load index (PLI) of 0.03 showed that the site could not be considered as polluted by the trace elements in PM2.5. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used for source apportionment of the PM2.5 content. The PMF analysis reveals that a mixture of mineral dust, fossil fuel combustion, industries, and salts were the main sources of air pollution. The non‐carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks were assessed, and both show a small health risk in the short study period. Following the development of PM2.5 concentrations over time in this part of China shows a decreasing trend of PM2.5 pollution, which is promising for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]