Hortellani, Marcos H. Environmental monitoring of metals from platinum group elements (Pt, Pd e Rh), in road dust samples collected in high traffic routes of the São Paulo city The presence of platinum, palladium and rhodium (Platinum Group Elements, PGEs) in the road dust comes from the direct release of the automobile catalysts used in the exhausts, to control pollutant gas emissions, due abrasion. Road dust samples from some of the main highways from São Paulo city were evaluated in 18 (eighteen) strategically chosen locations and sampled in 3 (three) collection campaigns (July 2008, July -August 2016 and July 2018). To perform this work, methodology was used for sampling, sample preparation, digestion, separation of matrix interferents by ion exchange chromatography and analysis of the PGEs by mass spectrometry, ICP-MS. The chromatographic separation was optimized by monitoring the maintenance of the natural isotope ratio, proving the elimination of the interfering ions during the separation. The validation of the proposed methodology was performed using the parameters of selectivity, matrix effect, working range, linearity, limits of detection (LD) and quantification (LQ), precision, accuracy and recovery. The measurement uncertainty, compounded by the combination of analytical uncertainty and sampling uncertainty, was estimated. The metal pollution index, MPI, and the enrichment factor, EF, of the PGEs were calculated. In these samples the range quantified of the elements were: Pt (2.6 -227 ng g -1 ), Pd (16.3 -1875 ng g -1 ) and Rh (2.02 -257 ng g -1 ). The dust collection points located on Av. Consolação, Av. Paulista and Av. Rebouças close to Consolação and Paulista avenues, all regions with intense and slow vehicle traffic, presented the highest values of PGEs and therefore, also the highest metal pollution index (MPI) and enrichment factors (EF), showing that these PGEs originate from the wear of automotive catalysts. Changes in the PGEs ratios were observed between the road dust samples from 2008, 2016 and 2018, mainly the increase in the palladium concentration and decrease in the platinum 4 concentration. Differences that occurred according to the changes made by the automotive industry in the catalysts due to the high cost of platinum.