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NSYSU organizes Forum on Particulates Emission: Sources and Reduction Strategy to save the air

One recent domestic research showed that the growth of the prevalence of adenocarcinoma of the lung (type of lung cancer) among the Taiwanese might be linked to air pollution. In Kaohsiung and Pingtung area there is a serious problem of air pollution; the annual growth of the prevalence of adenocarcinoma of the lung is over 15 times faster than in the north of the island. On September 11th NSYSU Aerosol Science Research Center organized the Forum on Particulates Emission: Sources and Reduction Strategy, gathering many scholars to present new technologies to analyze emission sources of particulates and propose effective emission reduction strategies. Air quality can be improved by joining forces to determine the sources of pollution.

Senior Vice President of the University I-Yu Huang pointed out that the global problem of air pollution and PM 2.5 is fairly serious and greatly influences human health and living environment. The Taiwanese need to gain an in-depth understanding of the emission characteristics of different pollution sources. National Sun Yat-sen University established Aerosol Science Research Center, first of this kind in Asia, fully devoted to basic research on aerosols, investigation on the influence of aerosols on the atmosphere, waters, the environment and human health and the application of aerosols in biomedicine. The Center hopes to fulfill the university’s social responsibility through think tank and local participation and by pursuing excellence.

“When analyzing PM 2.5, we cannot only focus on particles concentration. The key is to find out what are the chemical elements of the particulates!” said Chia-Chen Wang, Director of Aerosol Science Research Center. She emphasized that air pollution and particulates have a great influence on the environment and human health, thus developing state-of-the-art methods for the analysis of emission sources and finding effective emission reduction strategies are undoubtedly top-priority tasks. We hope that academic-industry cooperation and knowledge exchange will help improve air quality, alleviate the present problem of air pollution and floating particulate matter. This will greatly influence the environment and public health.

Associate professor of the Institute of Environmental Engineering at NSYSU Wei-Hsiang Chen said that Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area, due to the growth of industry and transportation frequency, is a region with relatively serious air pollution in Taiwan. Among these, particulates is one of the factors leading to the deterioration of air quality in Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area. Fugitive emissions from raw material dumps of the steel industry may be one of the sources. Having collected and analyzed data related to fugitive emissions within the fields, combustion emission sources, upwind and downwind PM 2.5 concentrations and concentration of heavy metals, Professor Chen evaluated the potential trends in human health resulting from the influence of these factors. Furthermore, to help reduce fugitive emissions and control dusts of coal dumps, two dust removal methods were compared – by water mist and water sprinkling, to examine which of the technologies is more effective for reducing the emission of dusts.

Assistant professor of the Department of Chemistry at NSYSU Chao-Yu Chung devoted himself to the development of infrared spectroscopic method and microscopic technology. He said that particulates emitted by the industry and other sources often include different chemical substances. By developing highly sensitive infrared spectrometer he hopes to be able to conduct in-depth analysis any moment and in any place, with the particulate structure undamaged, and greatly improve the accuracy of the analysis.

Speakers at the Forum on Particulates Emission: Sources and Reduction Strategy also include professor Chung-Hsuan Chen – member of Academia Sinica and honorary lecturer at NSYSU, Chung-Kuang Chou – Deputy Director of the Research Center for Environmental Changes of Academia Sinica, professor Chun-Chin Tsai – lecturer of the Institute of Environmental Engineering at National Chiao Tung University, Jia-Lin Wang – professor of the Department of Chemistry at National Central University, Ta-Chih Hsiao – associate professor of the Institute of Environmental Engineering at National Taiwan University and Li-Hao Yang – associate professor of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health at China Medical University.
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