Department of Environmental Science, Patan Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal.
School of Earth Science and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 61005, Republic of Korea.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Oct 27;195(11):1382. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-11918-y.
The impact of incense burning on ambient air quality was investigated by measuring the concentrations of fine particles (PM), elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and their oxidative potential (OP) at three temple premises in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. These temples, namely, Bajrabarahi, Bagalamukhi, and Bhadrakali, are located in three distinct environments: forest, residential, and roadside, respectively. During the incense burning event days, the PM concentration at Bhadrakali (431.4 μgm) was significantly higher than that measured at the Bagalamukhi (135.2 μgm) and Bajrabarahi (84.7 μgm) temple premises. This observation is consistent with the fact that Bhadrakali Temple had the highest intensity of incense burning. Additionally, the temple premises were also influenced by vehicular emissions from transportation facilities. Carbonaceous aerosols significantly increased during incense burning events, indicating that incense burning contributes significantly to the formation of primary and secondary OC. Moreover, the OP of PM during the incense burning event days was higher compared to non-event days (p < 0.05), suggesting an elevated health risk due to the increased concentration and toxicity of fine particles. These findings highlight the substantial impact of incense burning on air quality in temple premises, emphasizing the need to implement effective strategies to mitigate the associated health risks.
本研究在尼泊尔加德满都谷地的三座寺庙（Bajrabarahi、Bagalamukhi 和 Bhadrakali）内，通过测量细颗粒物（PM）、元素碳（EC）、有机碳（OC）及其氧化潜力（OP）的浓度，调查了焚香对环境空气质量的影响。这三座寺庙分别位于森林、居民区和路边三种不同的环境中。在焚香日，Bhadrakali（431.4 μg/m）的 PM 浓度明显高于 Bagalamukhi（135.2 μg/m）和 Bajrabarahi（84.7 μg/m）的浓度。这一观察结果与 Bhadrakali 寺庙焚香强度最高的事实一致。此外，寺庙所在地还受到交通设施排放的车辆废气的影响。在焚香事件期间，碳质气溶胶显著增加，表明焚香对一次和二次 OC 的形成有很大贡献。此外，与非事件日相比，焚香日的 PM 浓度和毒性更高（p<0.05），这表明由于细颗粒物浓度和毒性增加，健康风险也随之升高。这些发现强调了在寺庙场所中焚香对空气质量的重大影响，需要采取有效的策略来减轻相关的健康风险。
