[Water-soluble inorganic salts in ambient aerosol particles in Tangshan]

To investigate the levels, seasonal variation and size distributions of water soluble inorganic components, samples were collected with an Andersen cascade sampler in Tangshan from Sep. 2010 to Aug. 2011, and were analyzed by IC. The results showed that the secondary inorganic components (SO4(2-), NO3(-) and NH4(+)) were the major contributors to PM9 and PM2.1, accounting for 68% and 77% of the total water soluble salts in PM9 and PM2.1, respectively. The total concentrations of these three ions in spring, summer, autumn, and winter were 35.0, 84.7, 67.3 and 61.6 microg x m(-3) in PM9, and 23.2, 64.8, 52.7 and 49.6 microg x m(-3) in PM2.1. About 70%, 75% and 94% of SO4(2-), NO3(-) and NH4(+) were found in the fine mode of aerosol, respectively. Ca2+ and Mg2+ were unimodal and mostly concentrated in the coarse mode. Those results indicated that the pollution caused by atmospheric particles is serious in Tangshan. It is urgent to control the anthropogenic emissions sources, such as vehicle emission, coal and biomass burning. Meanwhile, it is necessary to strengthen the greening and reinforce the management of the road construction.