Chemical speciation of size-segregated floor dusts and airborne magnetic particles collected at underground subway stations in Seoul, Korea.

Previous studies have reported the major chemical species of underground subway particles to be Fe-containing species that are generated from wear and friction processes at rail-wheel-brake and catenaries-pantographs interfaces. To examine chemical composition of Fe-containing particles in more details, floor dusts were collected at five sampling locations of an underground subway station. Size-segregated floor dusts were separated into magnetic and non-magnetic fractions using a permanent magnet. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDX), iron metal, which is relatively harmless, was found to be the dominating chemical species in the floor dusts of the <25 μm size fractions with minor fractions of Mg, Al, Si, Ca, S, and C. From SEM analysis, the floor dusts of the <25 μm size fractions collected on railroad ties appeared to be smaller than 10 μm, indicating that their characteristics should somewhat reflect the characteristics of airborne particles in the tunnel and the platform. As most floor dusts are magnetic, PM levels at underground subway stations can be controlled by removing magnetic indoor particles using magnets. In addition, airborne subway particles, most of which were smaller than 10 μm, were collected using permanent magnets at two underground subway stations, namely Jegi and Yangjae stations, in Seoul, Korea. XRD and SEM/EDX analyses showed that most of the magnetic aerosol particles collected at Jegi station was iron metal, whereas those at Yangjae station contained a small amount of Fe mixed with Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, and C. The difference in composition of the Fe-containing particles between the two subway stations was attributed to the different ballast tracks used.