peer reviewed | Marie-Curie Fellowship

Nitric acid (HNO₃) vapor is a significant component of air pollution. Dry deposition of HNO₃ is thought to be a major contributor to terrestrial loading of anthropogenically-derived nitrogen (N), but many questions remain regarding the physico-chemical process of deposition and the biological responses to accumulation of dry-deposited HNO₃ on surfaces. To examine these processes experimentally, a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) fumigation system has been constructed. This system enables simultaneous fumigation at several concentrations in working volumes 1.3 m dia by 1.3 m ht, allowing for simultaneous fumigation of many experimental units. Evaluation of the system indicates that it is appropriate for long-term exposures of several months duration and capable of mimicking patterns of diurnal atmospheric HNO₃ concentrations representative of areas with different levels of pollution.

The results of spatial and temporal distribution of acidic and basic air pollutants in ambient air around Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park (SBIP), Taiwan during August 2000 to October 2001 are presented. The sampling was performed on 13 different sites around the SBIP for 12 hrs each every month, and a total of 195 samples were collected. The effect of geographical and meteorologicalconditions, and production volume of the SBIP on the variation of pollutant's concentration was investigated. The spatial distribution shows that comparatively higher concentration of pollutants was found on the sites, which are either low in altitude such as the WS (west-southern) part of SBIP, in the downwind location or close to the factories. In case the wind velocity was low, i.e. below 2 m s⁻¹, the concentration of pollutant tended to increase and became uniformly distributed around the science park. The temporal distribution shows a decrease in ambient concentration of pollutants from February to June 2001, mainly due to the decline in the production volume of the SBIP in this period. During the whole period of investigation, the concentration of most of the species (except HF) was found to be lower than the factory-surrounding air quality standard of Taiwan, but in some cases it was higher than the AALG.