Atmospheric aerosol particulates

Here we have restricted our attention to atmospheric aerosols (particulate matter) because of the crucial role these particles play in adverse health effects, visibility reduction, soiling, and acid rain—the most serious effects of air pollution. However, it should be noted that many of the techniques discussed in this book also can be applied to gas-phase species. 

Neutron activation analysis is one of the major techniques for the determination of many minor and trace elements in a large variety of solid environmental and pollution samples, such as atmospheric aerosols, particulate emissions, fly ash, coal, incineration ash, and sewage sludge. Instrumental neutron activation analysis of total, inhal-able, or respirable airborne particulate matter collected on a cellulose or membrane filter, or in a cascade impactor on some organic substrate, allows the determination of up to 45 elements by an irradiation - counting scheme similar to the one given in Figure 3. Radiochemical NAA is applied only when extremely low limits of determination are required. Instrumental photon activation analysis is also complementary to INAA. 

Typical examples of gaseous samples include automobile exhaust, emissions from industrial smokestacks, atmospheric gases, and compressed gases. Also included with gaseous samples are solid aerosol particulates. 

I,, = 0.7 h on silica gel, tA = 2.2 h on alumina and tA = 44 h on fly ash for different atmospheric particulate substrates determined in the rotary photoreactor (appr. 25 pg/g on substrate) (Behymer Hites 1985) direct photolysis tA = 9.08 h (predicted-QSPR) in atmospheric aerosol (Chen et al. 2001). Photodegradation k = 3 x 10-5 s in surface water during the summertime at mid-latitude (Fasnacht Blough 2002)... 

Atmospheric transport of atrazine-contaminated aerosol particulates, dusts, and soils may contribute significantly to atrazine burdens of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The annual atmospheric input of atrazine in rainfall to the Rhode River, Maryland, as one example, was estimated at 1016 mg/surface ha in 1977, and 97 mg/ha in 1978 (Wu 1981). A similar situation exists with fog water. When fog forms, exposed plant surfaces become saturated with liquid for the duration of the fog (Glotfelty et al. 1987). 

To find answers to these crucial questions and to establish if the occurrence of psychotropic substances in the atmospheric aerosols is just a curiosity or rather a potential problem for the community, a series of investigations have been carried out both in the laboratory and in the field. Dedicated procedures have been optimised, for instance, for cocaine and cannabinoids (see sections below), and the chemical stability of cocaine in airborne particulates and its partition between gas and aerosol phases were estimated, as well as its accumulation in fine rather than coarse particles. Furthermore, cocaine and cannabinoids concentrations have been measured in several cities over the world through field studies. After the first detection of cocaine in ambient air by Hannigan et al. [1] in Los Angeles, measurements were performed more extensively in Italy (for instance over 10 consecutive months in downtown Rome, or in 38 Italian localities) and Spain... 

Nickel releases to the atmosphere are mainly in the form of aerosols that cover a broad spectrum of sizes. Particulates from power plants tend to be associated with smaller particles than those from smelters (Cahill 1989 Schroeder et al. 1987). Atmospheric aerosols are removed by gravitational settling and dry and wet deposition. Submicron particles may have atmospheric half-lives as long as 30 days (Schroeder et al. 1987). Monitoring data confrrm that nickel can be transported far from its source (Pacyna and Ottar 1985). Nickel concentrations in air particulate matter in remote, rural, and U.S. urban areas are 0.01-60, 0.6-78, and 1-328 ng/m, respectively (Schroeder et al. 1987). 

Daisey, J. M., R. J. Hershman and T. J. Kneip. Seasonal variations in ambient levels of particulate organic matter in New York City. Paper presented at the Symposium on Atmospheric Aerosols, 178th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., Sept. 9-14, 1979. 

Pankow, J. F., Review and Comparative Analysis of the Theories on Partitioning between the Gas and Aerosol Particulate Phases in the Atmosphere, Atmos. Environ., 21, 2275-2283 (f987). 

Jalkanen, L., Makinen, A., Hasanen, E. Juhanoja, J. 2000. The effect of large anthropogenic particulate emissions on atmospheric aerosols, deposition and bioindicators in the eastern Gulf of Finland region. The Science of the Total Environment, 262, 123-136. 

In the study of atmospheric aerosols several techniques have been used to determine optical constants from measurements on particulate samples. And there have been many such measurements. Yet under pressure from funding agencies and from those waiting at computer terminals for optical constants of the complicated mixture that is the atmospheric aerosol, comparatively little effort has been expended on evaluating these techniques by applying them to particles of solids with known optical constants. 

Modified filter sampling methods that are available will measure ambient levels of strong acid in ambient aerosol samples, and these methods do so with acceptable precision and accuracy [as indicated by the balance between measured anions and cations (56, 57)] in the absence of significant levels of particulate weak acids. Additional intercomparisons involving intrinsically different techniques for particulate strong acidity [e.g., IR spectroscopy (48), thermal speciation (38, 45), and filter methods (28)] are needed. Further information on the occurrence of various weak acids in airborne particles is needed, along with further studies of techniques for their specific determination in atmospheric aerosol samples. 

Pankow JF (1987) Review and comparative analysis of the theories on partitioning between gas and aerosol particulate phases in the atmosphere. Atmos Environ 21 2275-2283... 

Addition of EGA to the analysis of atmospheric aerosol particles has permitted an independent speciation and determination of the nitrogenous component for samples which have not had chemical or physical pretreatment. The discovery from ESCA analyses that a substantial fraction of the particulate nitrogen exists chemically bound to the carbonaceous fraction has been confirmed by EGA. The indication from ESCA and EGA that inorganic sulfate... 

Laskin-Type Nozzle Generator. A third type of atomizer, the Laskin-type nozzle generator, is used to create test atmospheres of particulate or aerosol and vapor mixtures. A pure liquid or melt is used, and no solvent is necessary. Again, this is important for evaluating filter and solid sorbent combination sampling trains. 

An important current problem is attaining sufficient understanding of atmospheric aerosol dynamics to develop mathematical models capable of relating emission reductions of primary gaseous and particulate pollutants to changes in ambient aerosol loadings and thereby to improvements in visibility and health effects. These models involve thermodynamics, transport phenomena, and chemical kinetics in an intricate equilibrium and... 

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