Identification and Quantification of the Particulate Nitrosamines and Nitramines and Their Main Contributors in the Ambient Atmosphere at Seoul, South Korea

Nitrosamines and nitramines are the groups of chemical compounds with the general structure containing nitroso (N-NO) and nitro (N=O) functional group, respectively, and they have been suspected as carcinogens. Nitrosamines and nitramines in the atmosphere can be emitted from primary emission sources such as industrial use, vehicular exhaust, carbon capture and storage (CCS) procedure. They can be also produced from the atmospheric reactions and removed by photolysis. Especially, nitrosamines are removed rapidly in the ambient atmosphere, producing nitramines which have longer residence time than nitrosamines. Since the primary emission sources and atmospheric reactions producing the nitrosamines and nitramines are highly correlated, simultaneous analysis of nitrosamines and nitramines is necessary to understand the contributors of nitrosamines and nitramines in the ambient atmosphere.

Simultaneous analysis of 7 nitrosamines (nitroso dimethylamine, nitroso diethylamine, nitroso dipropylamine, nitroso dibutylamine, nitroso morpholine, nitroso piperidine and nitroso pyrrolidine) and 4 nitramines (methylnitramine, dimethylnitramine, diethylnitramine and ethanolnitramine) in the atmospheric particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to a nominal 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) in Seoul during winter (Jan. Feb. 2018) was carried out by using gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS-MS). The ambient levels of nitrosamines and nitramines will be reported. In addition, the main contributors producing nitrosamines and nitramines will be investigated using the correlation and multivariate analysis based on the ambient concentrations of nitrosamines, nitramines, other carbonaceous organic compounds and meteorological parameters which were simultaneously measured.