Physicochemical characteristics of PM 2.5 particles during high particulate event (HPE) in school area

• Published in: IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 2020-05, Vol.498 (1), p.12067
• Main Authors: Ramli, N A, Shith, S, Yusof, N F F Md, Zarkasi, K Z, Suroto, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1755-1307; 1755-1315
• DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/498/1/012067

Observations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and meteorological parameter (temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) fluctuations during a high particulate event (HPE) in Sekolah Kebangsaan Bayan Lepas, Malaysia have been conducted for three days (48 hrs). Selected sample spot of collected PM 2.5 particles with high concentration was chosen to investigate the physicochemical characteristics using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray (FESEM-EDX). The results show that the 24 h average concentration ± standard deviation of PM 2.5 (81.87 μg m −3 ± 31.83) exceeded the limit suggested by Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard (MAAQS-2020) and United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) which is 35 μg m −3 . The diurnal variations of PM 2.5 concentration fluctuated significantly during HPE. Results from Pearson correlation shows that relative humidity gives the most significant influence towards PM 2.5 concentration (r = 0.410; p < 0.01) followed by wind direction (r = -0.306, p < 0.01), temperature (r = -0.262., p