Annual Characteristics, Source Analysis of PM 1 -Bound Potentially Harmful Elements in the Eastern District of Chengdu, China.

Chengdu, a megacity in southwestern China, experiences severe air pollution; however, knowledge of the seasonal variation in mass concentration, extent of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) contamination, and sources caused by heavy metals remains lacking. This study adopted a weighting method to calculate the daily mass concentration of PM ₁ and used ICP-MS to determine PHE concentrations. Results indicated that PM ₁ mass concentration was in the range 5.44-105.91 μg/m ³ . Seasonal PM ₁ mass concentration could be arranged in the following order: winter > fall > spring > summer. The concentrations of PHEs in the PM ₁ sample mostly showed the same seasonal variation characteristics as mass concentration. The average concentration of each PHE decreased as follows: Cu (107.44) > Zn (81.52) > Pb (22.04) > As (8.17) > Sb (1.91) > Ni (1.87) > Cr(VI) (0.84) > Cd (0.40) > Tl (0.33) (ng/m ³ ). Enrichment factor values varied markedly from mild to anomalous enrichment. Principal component analysis revealed mainly derived from the fossil fuel combustion (55.215%).