The science of the total environment

Tracing geogenic and anthropogenic sources in urban dusts: Insights from lead isotopes

Evaluation of floor-wise pollution status and deposition behavior of potentially toxic elements and nanoparticles in air conditioner dust during urbanistic development.

Single particle characterization can provide information on the evolution of size distribution and chemical composition of pollution aerosol. The work described the use of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) combined with X-ray Dispersive Energy Spectrometry (EDS) to characterize inorganic atmospheric particles samples collected on PM10 filters from January 2013 to October 2013 from three zones within the city of Hermosillo, Sonora. Specimens were initially processed by separating the collected particles from the filters by means of submersing a 2 cm2 section of each filter into isopropilic alcohol within a test tube for 5 minutes. Then, an aliquot of the suspension was placed over a sample holder and into the SEM. The different elements found amongst individual particles were Al, Ba, Ca, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Pb, S, Si, Ti and U. The predominant elements are Al (17.10 At%), Si (10.17 At%), Ba (5.90 At%), Fe (5.45 At%) and U (2.32 At%). The particles were classified into groups based on morphology and elemental composition: particles of aluminosilicate, salts of sodium chloride, sulfates, metal particles, barium and uranium. These particles morphology and chemical composition, illustrate an abundance of natural elements within the zone. However, some of the elements presented are directly related with human activities, and are of much interest from the public health and environmental perspectives.

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Chemical and Morphological Study of PM10 Analysed by SEM-EDS

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 – July 30, 2009

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Characterization of Inhalable Particulate Matter in Ambient Air by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis

Resumen en: Physical and chemical characterization of inorganic atmospheric particle samples collected on TSP and PM10 filters from January 2003 through December 20...

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Characterization of inorganic atmospheric particles in air quality program with SEM, TEM and XAS

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, July 30 – August 3, 2006

/pdf/sem-and-tem-characterization-of-inorganic-atmospheric-4lqhq5jm8f.pdf

R Ramirez Leal

Papers

Characterization of inorganic atmospheric particles in air quality program with SEM, TEM and XAS

SEM and TEM Characterization of Inorganic Atmospheric Particles in Air Quality Program