Chemical characterization of water-soluble aerosols in different residential environments of semi aridregion of India

This paper deals with the atmospheric concentrations of PM5 and PM2.5 particulate matter and its water soluble constituents along with the size distribution of ions and spatial variation at three different residential environments in a semiarid region in India. Samples were collected from the indoors and outdoors of urban, rural and roadside sites of Agra during October 2007–March 2008. The mean concentrations of PM2.5 indoors and outdoors were 178 µgm−3 and 195 µgm−3 while the mean concentrations of PM5 indoors and outdoors were 231.8 µgm−3 and 265.2 µgm−3 respectively. Out of the total aerosol mass, water soluble constituents contributed an average of 80% (33% anions, 50% cations) in PM5 and 70% (29% anions, 43% cations) in PM2.5. The indoor–outdoor ratio of water soluble components suggested additional aerosol indoor sources at rural and roadside sites. Indoor–outdoor correlations were also determined which show poor relationships among concentrations of aerosol ions at all three sites. Univariate Pearson correlation coefficients among water soluble aerosols were determined to evaluate the relationship between aerosol ions in indoor and outdoor air.