Source characterisation of airborne particles in Seville (Spain) by multivariate statistical analyses

Abstract

Metal contamination (Al, Cr, Mn, Fe. Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in suspended particles was studied at twelve monitoring stations in Seville. The metal concentrations in cellulose filter samples were analyzed by FAAS (flame atomic absorption spectrophotometric) and GFAAS (graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry). We found that the sum and the percentages of metals analyzed with respect to the Total Suspended Particles (TSP) were low. The study shows that Al and Fe are the major metal elements with concentrations of around 860 ng m -3 which together represent 90.6% of the sum of metals. Three statistical groups of metals were found by factor analysis and cluster analysis: Fe, Al and Mn; Zn, Cd and Cr; and Pb and Cu. These techniques, applied in the Imonitoring stations, were effective at associating the groupings obtained with the different environmental locations of the city and with the origin of the metals in different areas of the same city. Areas of the city influenced by traffic and industry were distinguished, especially those influenced by metal foundry industries (Camas, Puerto Este, Pinomontano and La Liebre). A second group comprises areas influenced by traffic alone (Los Remedios, Larana, Resolana, Recaredo and Luis Montoto). The remaining sites correspond to areas influenced by emission sources (Reina Mercedes, Bellavista and Torreblanca).