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Source Contribution of PM2.5 at Different Locations on the Malaysian Peninsula

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Abstract

This study determined the source contribution of PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 μm) in air at three locations on the Malaysian Peninsula. PM2.5 samples were collected using a high volume sampler equipped with quartz filters. Ion chromatography was used to determine the ionic composition of the samples and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of heavy metals. Principal component analysis with multilinear regressions were used to identify the possible sources of PM2.5. The range of PM2.5 was between 10 ± 3 and 30 ± 7 µg m−3. Sulfate (SO4 2−) was the major ionic compound detected and zinc was found to dominate the heavy metals. Source apportionment analysis revealed that motor vehicle and soil dust dominated the composition of PM2.5 in the urban area. Domestic waste combustion dominated in the suburban area, while biomass burning dominated in the rural area.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Malaysian Ministry of Education (FRGS/1/2013/SPWN01/UKM/02/2 Research Grant) and Dr. Rose Norman for proofreading this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Ooi Ee-Ling, Nur Ili Hamizah Mustaffa, Norhaniza Amil, Md Firoz Khan & Mohd Talib Latif

  2. Research Centre for Tropical Climate Change Systems (IKLIM), Institute for Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Md Firoz Khan & Mohd Talib Latif

  3. School of Industrial Technology (Environmental Division), Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Norhaniza Amil

Authors
  1. Ooi Ee-Ling
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  2. Nur Ili Hamizah Mustaffa
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  3. Norhaniza Amil
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  4. Md Firoz Khan
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  5. Mohd Talib Latif
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Correspondence to Mohd Talib Latif.

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Ee-Ling, O., Mustaffa, N.I.H., Amil, N. et al. Source Contribution of PM2.5 at Different Locations on the Malaysian Peninsula. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 94, 537–542 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1477-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1477-9

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