Search Results (4)

Malaysia has been experiencing smoke-haze episodes almost annually for the past few decades. PM_2.5 is the main component in haze and causes harmful impacts on health due to its small aerodynamic size. This study aimed to explore the implications of PM_2.5 exposure on the dietary intake of working individuals. Two phased 13-weeks follow-up study was conducted involving 440 participants, consisting of two cohorts of outdoor and indoor workers. Ambient PM_2.5 concentrations were monitored using DustTrakTM DRX Aerosol Monitor. Data on Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) and 24 h diet recall were collected weekly. The highest PM_2.5 concentration of 122.90 ± 2.07 µg/m³ was recorded in August, and it vastly exceeded the standard value stipulated by US EPA and WHO. SNAQ scores and calorie intake were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) associated with changes in PM_2.5 exposure of outdoor workers. Several moderate and positive correlations (R-value ranged from 0.4 to 0.6) were established between SNAQ scores, calorie intake and PM_2.5 exposure. Overall findings suggested that long hours of PM_2.5 exposure affect personal dietary intake, potentially increasing the risk of metabolic syndromes and other undesired health conditions. The current policy should be strengthened to safeguard the well-being of outdoor workers. Full article

This study evaluates the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) for simulating biomass burning aerosol transport at high resolution in the tropics using two different biomass burning emission inventories. Hourly, daily, and monthly average PM10 dry mass concentrations at 5 km resolution—simulated separately using the Brazilian Biomass Burning Emission Model (WRF-3BEM) and the Fire Inventory from NCAR (WRF-FINN) and their averages (WRF-AVG) for 3 months from February to April—are evaluated, using measurements from ground stations distributed in northern Thailand for 2014 and 2015. Results show that WRF-3BEM agrees well with observations and performs much better than WRF-FINN and WRF-AVG. WRF-3BEM simulations are almost unbiased, while those of WRF-FINN and WRF-AVG are significantly overestimated due to significant overestimates of FINN emissions. WRF-3BEM and the measured monthly average PM10 concentrations for all stations and both years are 89.22 and 87.20 μg m⁻³, respectively. The root mean squared error of WRF-3BEM simulated monthly average PM10 concentrations is 72.00 and 47.01% less than those of WRF-FINN and WRF-AVG, respectively. The correlation coefficient of WRF-3BEM simulated monthly PM10 concentrations and measurements is 0.89. WRF-3BEM can provide useful biomass burning aerosol transport simulations for the northern region of Thailand. Full article

One of the worst haze events to ever hit Peninsular Malaysia occurred in June 2013 due to smoke from Riau, Central Sumatra. While biomass-burning in the region is common, the early occurrence of a haze episode of this magnitude was uncharacteristic of the seasonality of extreme fire events, which usually occur between August and October in the Maritime Continent (MC). This study aims to investigate the phenomenology of the June 2013 haze event and its underlying meteorological forcing agents. The aerosol and meteorological environment during the event is examined using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire hotspot detections and aerosol optical thickness retrievals, satellite-based precipitation retrievals, and meteorological indices. These datasets are then supported by a WRF-Chem simulation to provide a comprehensive picture of the event’s meteorology and aerosol transport phenomenology. While extreme fire events are more characteristic of El Nino years, the MODIS fire count over the MC in June for the years 2001–2015 was highest in 2013 when neutral El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions prevailed. Although, the mean daily precipitation for June 2013 was below average for June 2003–2015. An early active tropical cyclone (TC) season occurred in 2013, and results show that the combined induced subsidence and flow enhancement due to TC Bebinca and the dry phases of a strong Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) event contributed to the event intensification. Results also show that Bebinca induced a decrease in surface relative humidity of at least 10% over Riau, where fire hotspots were concentrated. Full article

Chemical characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in Wuxi at urban, industrial, and clean sites on haze and non-haze days were investigated over four seasons in 2016. In this study, high concentrations of fine particulate matter (107.6 ± 25.3 μg/m³) were measured in haze episodes. The most abundant chemical components were organic matter (OM), SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, elemental carbon (EC), and NH₄⁺, which varied significantly on haze and non-haze days. The concentrations of OM and EC were 38.5 ± 5.4 μg/m³ and 12.3 ± 2.1 μg/m³ on haze days, which were more than four times greater than those on non-haze days. Source apportionment using a chemical mass balance (CMB) model showed that the dominant sources were secondary sulfate (17.7%), secondary organic aerosols (17.1%), and secondary nitrate (14.2%) during the entire sampling period. The source contribution estimates (SCEs) of most sources at clean sites were lower than at urban and industrial sites. Primary industrial emission sources, such as coal combustion and steel smelting, made larger contributions at industrial sites, while vehicle exhausts and cooking smoke showed higher contributions at urban sites. In addition, the SCEs of secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, and secondary organic aerosols on haze days were much higher than those on non-haze days, indicating that the secondary particulate matter formations process was the dominating reason for high concentrations of particles on haze days. Full article