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

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 ($PM_{2.5}$) in Wangsimni commercial areas in Seoul, Korea to learn more about its environmental behavior in an urban area. Our analysis of $PM_{2.5}$ was made to distinguish the $PM_{2.5}$ 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 $PM_{2.5}$ were also compared between weekdays and weekends and between early in the afternoon and evening. The average concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ from densely and thinly populated areas were measured as $36.0{\pm}13.1$ and $32.3{\pm}11.2{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. If the results are compared between different time bands, there were apparent differences between weekdays ($29.6{\pm}10.8{\mu}g/m^3$) and weekends ($36.9{\pm}12.1{\mu}g/m^3$). Such difference was also evident between noon ($27.8{\pm}5.8{\mu}g/m^3$) and evening ($38.3{\pm}13.7{\mu}g/m^3$). According to our research, concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ 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 $PM_{2.5}$ in the Wangsimni commercial areas based on data contouring method.

상업지역의 초미세먼지(PM2.5) 발생특성 연구