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Deep Inorganic Fraction Characterization of PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, and PM<sub>1</sub> in an Industrial Area Located in Central Italy by Means of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis
oleh: Maurizio Manigrasso, Geraldo Capannesi, Alberto Rosada, Monica Lammardo, Paolo Ceci, Andrea Petrucci, Pasquale Avino
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2020-04-01 |
Deskripsi
Atmospheric pollution is an important task in life sciences and, in particular, inorganic fraction characterization is considered as an important issue in this field. For many years, researchers have focused their attention on the particulate matter fraction below 10 μm: in this case, our attention was also focused on PM<sub>2.5</sub> (i.e., particles with a size fraction smaller than 2.5 μm) and PM<sub>1</sub> (below 1 μm). This paper would like to investigate whether the element accumulation in different granulometric fractions is similar, or whether there are behavior dissimilarities. Among the different analytical techniques, the instrumental neutron activation analysis, an instrumental nuclear method, was used for its peculiarity of investigating the sample without performing any chemical-physical treatment. Forty-two daily samples using the reference method were collected, 15 filters for PM<sub>10</sub>, 18 for PM<sub>2.5</sub>, and 12 for PM<sub>1</sub>; the filters, along with primary standards and appropriate standard reference materials, were irradiated at the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) R.C.-Casaccia’s Triga MARK II reactor. The irradiations carried out in the Rabbit and Lazy Susan channels allowed for the investigation of 36 elements and the relative Pearson’s correlations between elements and PM-fractions (PM<sub>10</sub> vs. PM<sub>2.5</sub> was good, whereas PM<sub>10</sub> vs. PM<sub>1</sub> was the worst). The Enrichment Factors were studied for the three fractions to show how anthropogenic sources have affected the element content. A comparison between these data and element levels determined worldwide showed that our concentrations were lower than those determined in similar scenarios. Furthermore, a statistical approach (source discrimination, hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis) has allowed us to identify similarities between the samples: the airborne filters can be divided in two main groups (i.e., one made of PM<sub>10</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub> filters and one only of PM<sub>1</sub> filters), meaning a different element contribution to this fraction coming from other sources present at the site.