Spatial variation of PM elemental composition between and within 20 European study areas — Results of the ESCAPE project. (November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tsai, Ming-Yi; Hoek, Gerard; Eeftens, Marloes; de Hoogh, Kees; Beelen, Rob; Beregszászi, Timea; Cesaroni, Giulia; Cirach, Marta; Cyrys, Josef; De Nazelle, Audrey; de Vocht, Frank; Ducret-Stich, Regina; Eriksen, Kirsten; Galassi, Claudia; Gražuleviciene, Regina; Gražulevicius, Tomas; Grivas, Georgios; Gryparis, Alexandros; Heinrich, Joachim; Hoffmann, Barbara; Iakovides, Minas; Keuken, Menno; Krämer, Ursula; Künzli, Nino; Lanki, Timo; Madsen, Christian; Meliefste, Kees; Merritt, Anne-Sophie; Mölter, Anna; Mosler, Gioia; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.; Pershagen, Göran; Phuleria, Harish; Quass, Ulrich; Ranzi, Andrea; Schaffner, Emmanuel; Sokhi, Ranjeet; Stempfelet, Morgane; Stephanou, Euripides; Sugiri, Dorothea; Taimisto, Pekka; Tewis, Marjan; Udvardy, Orsolya; Wang, Meng; Brunekreef, Bert;
• Is Part Of: Environment international. Volume 84(2015:Nov.)
• Page Start: 181
• Page End: 192
• Publication Date: 2015-11
• Subjects: AUV Vorarlberg, Austria -- BNL Belgium & the Netherlands -- DCO Copenhagen, Denmark -- FIH Helsinki/Turku, Finland -- FPA Paris, France -- GMU Munich/Augsburg, Germany -- GRA Athens, Greece -- GRH Heraklion, Greece -- GRU Ruhr Area, Germany -- HUG Gyor, Hungary -- IRO Rome, Italy -- ITU Turin, Italy -- LIK Kaunas, Lithuania -- NOS Oslo, Norway -- SPB Barcelona, Spain -- SPC Catalunya, Spain -- SST Stockholm, Sweden -- SWL Lugano, Switzerland -- UKM Manchester, United Kingdom -- UKO London/Oxford, United Kingdom -- ESCAPE European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects -- PM2.5 mass concentration of particles less than 2.5 μm in size -- PM2.5 absorbance measurement of the blackness of PM2.5 filters, this is a proxy for elemental carbon, which is the dominant light absorbing substance -- PM10 mass concentration of particles less than 10 μm in size -- PMcoarse mass concentration of the coarse fraction of particles between 2.5 μm and 10 μm in size -- ST street site -- UB urban background site -- RB regional background site -- Cu copper -- Fe iron -- K potassium -- Ni nickel -- S sulfur -- Si silicon -- V vanadium -- Zn zinc; Air pollution -- Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) -- Trace elements -- PM2.5 -- PM10 -- PM composition -- Spatial contrasts -- Exposure assessment; Environmental protection -- Periodicals; Environmental health -- Periodicals; Environmental monitoring -- Periodicals; Environmental Monitoring -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Protection -- Périodiques; Hygiène du milieu -- Périodiques; Environnement -- Surveillance -- Périodiques; Environmental health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental protection; Periodicals; 333.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.04.015
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-4120

Abstract

Abstract: An increasing number of epidemiological studies suggest that adverse health effects of air pollution may be related to particulate matter (PM) composition, particularly trace metals. However, we lack comprehensive data on the spatial distribution of these elements. We measured PM2.5 and PM10 in twenty study areas across Europe in three seasonal two-week periods over a year using Harvard impactors and standardized protocols. In each area, we selected street (ST), urban (UB) and regional background (RB) sites (totaling 20) to characterize local spatial variability. Elemental composition was determined by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis of all PM2.5 and PM10 filters. We selected a priori eight (Cu, Fe, K, Ni, S, Si, V, Zn) well-detected elements of health interest, which also roughly represented different sources including traffic, industry, ports, and wood burning. PM elemental composition varied greatly across Europe, indicating different regional influences. Average street to urban background ratios ranged from 0.90 (V) to 1.60 (Cu) for PM2.5 and from 0.93 (V) to 2.28 (Cu) for PM10 . Our selected PM elements were variably correlated with the main pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, PM2.5 absorbance, NO2 and NOx ) across Europe: in general, Cu and Fe in all size fractions were highly correlated (Pearson correlations above 0.75); Si and Zn in the coarse fractions were modestly correlated (between 0.5 and 0.75); and the remaining elements in the various size fractions had lower correlations (around 0.5 or below). This variability in correlation demonstrated the distinctly different spatial distributions of most of the elements. Variability of PM10 _Cu and Fe was mostly due to within-study area differences (67% and 64% of overall variance, respectively) versus between-study area and exceeded that of most other traffic-related pollutants, including NO2 and soot, signaling the importance of non-tailpipe (e.g., brake wear) emissions in PM. Highlights: First EU study characterizing PM element distribution within and between 20 areas. Elemental composition of PM varies greatly across Europe. Many elements have low correlations demonstrating different spatial distributions. Large within-area variability of Cu & Fe shows importance of non-tailpipe emissions.