Monitoring trace metals in urban aerosols from Buenos Aires city. Determination by plasma-based techniques

Abstract

A study was undertaken, within the framework of a 3 years national project, to assess the content of 13 elements in airborne particulate matter collected in representative zones of the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. The sampling strategy followed consisted in collecting simultaneously 67 samples of PM10 particulate matter in 9 sampling sites covering an area of about 30 km2 during one week. The collection was performed on ash-free fibre-glass filters using high volume samplers. A combination of aqua regia and perchloric acid was used for leaching metals from filters. Key elements, namely Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, Sn, Zn and Zr, were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) at micro g g(-1) and ng g(-1) levels. Analyte concentration varied from 130 ng g(-1)(Mo) to over 30%(Ca). Multivariate statistical analysis was performed on the data set including the measured elemental compositions for the monitored period. The atmospheric concentration found for Pb confirms the decreasing levels of this element since the introduction of unleaded gasoline in 1995: 88 ng m(-3)(2001) < 220 ng m(-3)(1997) < 3900 ng m(-3)(1994). The average S concentration above 3 microg m(-3) is somehow unexpectedly high for Buenos Aires since the relatively low S content of liquid fuels and the massive usage of natural gas imply low emissions of this element from combustion activities. To the best of our knowledge, S concentrations are reported for the first time for this city.

Characteristics of Atmospheric Particulate Matter and Metals in Industrial Sites in Korea

“…It is seen that while the total particulate matter concentration increased in fall, the overall heavy metal content decreased except for Ni at NFI site. Similar and higher concentration of heavy metal contents in particulate matter in summer has been reported in literatures (Espinosa, Ternero Rodríguez, De La Rosa, & Sánchez, 2001;Gupta, Salunkhe, & Kumar, 2010;Querol et al, 2006;Razos & Christides, 2010;Shah, Shaheen, & Jaffar, 2006;Smichowski et al, 2004).…”

Air pollution sources of PM10 in Buenos Aires City

“…The sampling strategy used in this study has been described in detail by Smichowski et al (2004) and Goméz et al (2005). A total of 67 samples of airborne particulate matter were collected on ash-free glass-fiber filters using highvolume samplers (SIBATA, HV 1000F, Japan) with a PM 10 sampling head.…”

“…One recent assessment of the composition of PM 10 in Buenos Aires, undertaken by Smichowski et al (2004) analyzed airborne samples collected during an intensive sampling campaign lasting 8 days. This study has considered nine sites where PM 10 samples were collected simultaneously during each day while sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, were also measured.…”

UHPLC-(+)APCI-MS/MS determination of oxygenated and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulate matter and tree barks collected in Buenos Aires city

“…During more than ten years, our group has conducted a series of studies aimed at determination, fractionation, and source identification of metals, metalloids, and ions in airborne particulate matter and related environmental matrices such as tree barks, road dust, and ashes [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. In the framework of a new project, our interest in now focused on the contribution with information on the content of OPAHs and NPAHs in the…”