Department of Civil Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan.
Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Aug;28(30):40640-40652. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-10313-1. Epub 2020 Aug 2.
Health effects resulting from the smoke of carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones) and metal-containing incense particles at temples during incense burning periods were evaluated at temple A (without incense reduction activities) and B (with incense reduction activities), Nantou County, in 2018. The predominant size fractions of particles were PM, PM, and PM at both temples. The total particle mass at temple A was approximately 1.1 times that of temple B due to incense reduction at temple B. The most abundant metal elements in all particle size fractions at both temples were Fe, Al, and Zn. Metal species of incense smoke are divided into three groups by hierarchical cluster analysis and heatmaps, showing higher metal contents in groups PM, PM, and PM at temple A. In contrast, higher metal contents were observed in PM and PM at temple B. Most of the carbonyl species were formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, released during incense burning periods, with concentrations ranging from 6.20 to 13.05 μg/m at both temples. The total deposited fluxes of particle-bound metals at temples A and B were determined to be 83.00% and 84.82% using the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) model. Health-risk assessments revealed that the risk values of metals and carbonyls were above recommended guidelines (10) at temple A. Since worshippers and staff are exposed to incense burning environments with poor ventilation over a long period, these toxic organic compounds and metals increase health risks in the respiratory tract. Therefore, incense reduction is important to achieve healthy temple environments.
2018 年，在台湾南投县的寺庙 A（无香减排活动）和寺庙 B（有香减排活动）评估了燃烧香期间羰基化合物（醛类和酮类）和含金属的香颗粒烟雾对健康的影响。在这两个寺庙中，颗粒的主要粒径段为 PM、PM 和 PM。由于寺庙 B 进行了香减排，寺庙 A 的总颗粒物质量约为寺庙 B 的 1.1 倍。在这两个寺庙的所有粒径段中，含量最丰富的金属元素都是 Fe、Al 和 Zn。根据层次聚类分析和热图，香烟雾中的金属物种分为三组，表明寺庙 A 的 PM、PM 和 PM 粒径段中的金属含量更高。相比之下，寺庙 B 的 PM 和 PM 粒径段中的金属含量更高。大多数羰基化合物是甲醛和乙醛，在燃烧香期间释放，浓度范围在 6.20 至 13.05μg/m 之间。使用国际辐射防护委员会（ICRP）模型，确定了寺庙 A 和 B 中颗粒结合金属的总沉积通量分别为 83.00%和 84.82%。健康风险评估显示，寺庙 A 中金属和羰基的风险值高于推荐的（10）标准。由于朝拜者和工作人员长期暴露在通风不良的燃烧香环境中，这些有毒有机化合物和金属会增加呼吸道的健康风险。因此，减少香的使用对于实现健康的寺庙环境非常重要。
