Characteristics of PM2.5 Emission and Distribution in a Highly Commercialized Area in Seoul, Korea

Abstract

The pollution of particulate matter (PM) is considered one of the hot socioenvironmental issues at present time. In this study, we investigated the distribution of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Wangsimni commercial areas in Seoul, Korea to learn more about its environmental behavior in an urban area. Our analysis of PM2.5 was made to distinguish the PM2.5 pollution levels between three different types of site characteristics: (1) densely populated area, (2) thinly populated area, and (3) traffic roadside. Moreover, to assess the temporal trends in our study, the concentration levels of PM2.5 were also compared between weekdays and weekends and between early in the afternoon and evening. The average concentration of PM2.5 from densely and thinly populated areas were measured as 36.0 +/- 13.1 and 32.3 +/- 11.2 mu g/m(3), respectively. If the results are compared between different time bands, there were apparent differences between weekdays (29.6 +/- 10.8 mu g/m(3)) and weekends (36.9 +/- 12.1 mu g/m(3)). Such difference was also evident between noon (27.8 +/- 5.8 mu g/m(3)) and evening (38.3 +/- 13.7 mu g/m(3)). According to our research, concentration of PM2.5 in the study area was affected more sensitively by time zone rather than the population density. The measurement data was also analyzed by drawing concentration map of PM2.5 in the Wangsimni commercial areas based on data contouring method.