Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry - Air Quality Monitoring

Abstract

The concentration levels of heavy and toxic elements circulating in the environment
increase due to various industrial activities. Now it is well understood that the environmental
particles influence directly the cloud properties and atmosphere visibility, and indirectly change
the global climate. Particles with aerodynamic diameter larger than approx. 10 m were
collected by Bergerhoff’s method around metallurgical works “Kremicovtzi” in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Samples of atmospheric particles smaller than approx. 10 m were collected by filter technique
from the meteorological stations Milesovka and Kopisty, located in a highly polluted industrial
region of the Czech Republic. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICPAES) was applied in this study for quantitative determination of traces of elements after sample
extraction with aqua regia according to ISO 11466:1995. The accuracy is ensured by the
following ICP–AES methodology: (a) quantification of spectral interferences in the presence of
Al, Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti as a complex environmental matrix around the prominent lines of the
analytes, and (b) line selection for trace analysis. The content of some pollutants (As, Ba, Cu,
Mn, Pb, Zn, Al, Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti) was compared to the corresponding threshold concentration
levels and to the results from the chemical analysis of hundreds of individual particles by using
Electron Probe X–ray Micro-Analyses (EPXMA).