Effects of Open Burning of Rice Straw on Concentrations of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Central Taiwan

The sizes and concentrations of 21 atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured at Jhu-Shan (a rural site) and Sin-Gang (a town site) in central Taiwan in October and December 2005. Air samples were collected using semi-volatile sampling trains (PS-1 sampler) over 16 days for rice-straw burning and nonburning periods. These samples were then analyzed using a gas chromatograph with a flame-ionization detector (GC/FID). Particle-size distributions in the particulate phase show a bimode, peaking at 0.32-0.56 mu m and 3.2-5.6 mu m at the two sites during the nonburning period. During the burning period, peaks also appeared at 0.32-0.56 mu m and 3.2-5.6 mu m at Jhu-Shan, with the accumulation mode (particle size between 0.1 and 3.2 mu m) accounting for approximately 74.1% of total particle mass. The peaks at 0.18-0.32 mu m and 1.8-3.2 mu m at Shin-Gang had an accumulation mode accounting for approximately 70.1 % of total particle mass. The mass median diameter (MMD) of 3.99-4.35 mu m in the particulate phase suggested that rice-straw burning generated increased numbers of coarse particles. The concentrations of total PAHs (sum of 21 gases + particles) at the Jhu-Shan site (Sin-Gang site) were 522.9 +/- 111.4 ng/ml (572.0 +/- 91.0 ng/ml) and 330.1 +/- 17.0 ng/ml (or 427.5 +/- 108.0 ng/ml) during burning and nonburning periods, respectively, accounting for a roughly 58% (or 34%) increase in the concentrations of total PAHs due to rice-straw burning. On average, low-weight PAHs (about 87.0%) represent the largest proportion of total PAHs, followed by medium-weight PAHs (7.1%), and high-weight PAHs (5.9%). Combustion-related PAHs during burning periods were 1.54-2.57 times higher than those during nonburning periods. The results of principal component analysis (PCA)/absolute principal component scores (APCS) suggest that the primary pollution sources at the two sites are similar and include vehicle exhaust, coal/wood combustion, incense burning, and incineration emissions. Open burning of rice straw was estimated to contribute approximately 5.0-33.5% to the total atmospheric PAHs at the two sites.