Characteristics of Indoor and Outdoor Air Arsenic Content as Influenced by Combustion of High Arsenic Coal

In order to investigate the characteristics of arsenic(As) in indoor and outdoor air in the coal-burning pollution arseniasis area in the south of Shaanxi province,total air As concentrations were observed by sampling with total suspended particulate matter samplers. Meanwhile,As concentrations in different particle sizes were observed by sampling with Andersen ambient particle sizing samplers.Then,the relationship between air As concentrations and As content in burned coal and distribution of air As in different particle sizes were analyzed.The results showed that the total As contents in both indoor and outdoor air correlated significantly and positively with the As content in the burned coal((R=)0.80 and R=0.97,respectively,P0.01).High As concentration in indoor air appeared three hours after adding coal into stoves,with a positive correlation between air As and dust contents(R = 0.74,P 0.05).In addition,As concentration in indoor air was found to closely relate to house construction structure.In comparison with civil structure,masonry structure can prevent As diffusion among different rooms.Differences in As concentrations between indoor air in different rooms,between different locations outside,or between indoor and outdoor air appeared mainly when particle sizes were less than 2.1 μm.Weather conditions showed little effect on distribution of As concentration against particle sizes.