1. Combined use of daily and hourly data sets for the source apportionment of particulate matter near a waste incinerator plant
- Author
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Silvia Nava, Massimo Chiari, Franco Lucarelli, V. Barrera, Rita Traversi, Giulia Calzolai, Silvia Becagli, and Martina Giannoni
- Subjects
food.ingredient ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Biomass ,Incineration ,010501 environmental sciences ,Mineral dust ,Toxicology ,Combustion ,01 natural sciences ,food ,Environmental monitoring ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Aerosols ,Air Pollutants ,Nitrates ,Sulfates ,Sea salt ,Environmental engineering ,Dust ,General Medicine ,Particulates ,Pollution ,Carbon ,Italy ,Environmental science ,Particulate Matter ,Compositional data ,Environmental Monitoring - Abstract
A particulate matter (PM) source apportionment study was carried out in one of the most polluted districts of Tuscany (Italy), close to an old waste incinerator plant. Due to the high PM10 levels, an extensive field campaign was supported by the Regional Government to identify the main PM sources and quantify their contributions. PM10 daily samples were collected for one year and analysed by different techniques to obtain a complete chemical characterisation (elements, ions and carbon fractions). Hourly fine (2.5 μm) and coarse (2.5-10 μm) aerosol samples were collected by a Streaker sampler for a shorter period and hourly elemental concentrations were obtained by PIXE. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis of daily and hourly data allowed the identification of 10 main sources: six anthropogenic (Biomass Burning, Traffic, Secondary Nitrates, Secondary Sulphates, Incinerator, Heavy Oil combustion), two natural (Saharan Dust and Fresh Sea Salt) and two mixed sources (Local Dust and Aged Sea Salt). Biomass burning turned out to be the main source of PM, accounting for 30% of the PM10 mass as annual average, followed by Traffic (18%) and Secondary Nitrates (14%). Emissions from the Incinerator turned out to be only 2% of PM10 mass on average. PM10 composition and source apportionment have been assessed in a polluted area near a waste incinerator, by PMF analysis on daily and hourly compositional data sets.
- Published
- 2019