Wood burning pollution in southern Chile: PM2.5 source apportionment using CMB and molecular markers

Abstract

Temuco is a mid-size city representative of severe wood smoke pollution in southern Chile; i.e., ambient24-h PM2.5 concentrations have exceeded 150 mg/m3 in the winter season and the top concentrationreached 372 mg/m3 in 2010. Annual mean concentrations have decreased but are still above 30 mg/m3. Forthe very first time, a molecular marker source apportionment of ambient organic carbon (OC) and PM2.5was conducted in Temuco. Primary resolved sources for PM2.5 were wood smoke (37.5%), coal combustion(4.4%), diesel vehicles (3.3%), dust (2.2%) and vegetative detritus (0.7%). Secondary inorganicPM2.5 (sulfates, nitrates and ammonium) contributed 4.8% and unresolved organic aerosols (generatedfrom volatile emissions from incomplete wood combustion), including secondary organic aerosols,contributed 47.1%. Adding the contributions of unresolved organic aerosols to those from primary woodsmoke implies that wood burning is responsible for 84.6% of the ambient PM2.5 in Temuco. This predominanceof wood smoke is ultimately due to widespread poverty and a lack of efficient householdheating methods. The government has been implementing emission abatement policies but achievingcompliance with ambient air quality standards for PM2.5 in southern Chile remains a challenge.