Monitoring trace elements by nuclear techniques in PM10 and PM2.5

As part of a contract for air quality monitoring at an urban waste incinerator neighborhood, measurements of PM10 and PM2.5 are being routinely evaluated. Two samples are collected for 24 h at the weekend and a working day, using a Gent collector, which separates the particulate in two fractions: PM2.5 and PM2.5–10. Filters are polycarbonate Nuclepore, sized 47 mm, which, for analysis, are cut as: one half to be analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and one quarter for proton induced X-rays emission (PIXE). Both techniques are multielemental determining together around 25 chemical elements. Comparison of results is just possible for potassium, iron and zinc, which are compared in this work. A better agreement is obtained in PM2.5 suggesting a homogeneity trend. Fe and K compare quite well and Zn may show quite different results.