Le Petit Robert 2009 Isotopes

Pb isotopic studies of airborne particulate matter, incinerator ash, and gasoline have been carried out to determine sources of Pb pollution in urban areas from France and the southern United Kingdom. 206Pb/ 207Pb ratios in gasoline range from 1.061 to 1.094 (average values are 1.084 for France and 1.067 for the U.K.) while for industrially-derived Pb, 206Pb/ 207Pb ratios vary from 1.143 to 1.155. Natural Pb is more radiogenic and literature values for pre-industrial sedi ments give 206Pb/ 207Pb ratios of 1.19−1.20 in France and 1.17−1.19 in the U.K.

The measured Pb isotopic signature of airborne particulate matter reflects the relative importance of each of these sources, and samples taken from urban areas close to traffic in France and the U.K. Show 206Pb/ 207Pb ratios that vary widely from 1.085 to 1.158. While alkyl-lead additives in gasoline are typically still the dominant source of Pb in urban particulate matter, the relative importance of gasoline-derived Pb has decreased, and as a result other sources (industrial and natural) can be identified using isotopic studies.

This is a consequence of recent EU environmental legislation that significantly limits concentrations of Pb in gasoline and the increased market penetration of unleaded gasoline. In addition, at a given location, the Pb isotopic composition of particulate matter can vary considerably due to temporal variations in sources (i.e., variations in traffic density) and with wind direction. Learn more about these metrics Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.

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Epiphytic lichens, ambient PM-10, and bus air-filter aerosols collected in a city and the surrounding area were used to monitor urban atmospheric metal deposition in the Metz area, NE France. According to the measured Pb and Zn concentrations, high-enrichment factors (EF) were calculated for lichens collected in 2001 and 2003, suggesting an anthropogenic origin for those metals. Pb and Zn concentrations in lichens and other samples are correlated, probably indicative of the level of pollution recorded. However, different trends and scatters in the relationship suggest decoupling of Zn and Pb sources in this area. The lead isotopic composition of lichens varies largely from downtown, near traffic roads and highways, to suburbs but indicate an overall stability of sources between 2001 and 2003, although some minor variations were noted.

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Remobilization of Pb from leaded gasoline is still significant. The Zn isotopic composition measured in all lichens yielded fairly homogeneous δ 66Zn ranging from −0.2‰ to 0.5‰ relative to Zn JMC solution. Most lichen samples are indistinguishable from urban aerosols (PM-10 and bus air filters, δ 66Zn = 0.12 ± 0.21‰) and from flue gases from the city waste combustor (δ 66Zn = 0.13 ± 0.12‰). No systematic variations of Zn EF and isotopic compositions were observed for and between 2001 and 2003 samples. Some lichens having unradiogenic 206Pb/ 207Pb ratios displayed high Zn and negative δ 66Zn, indicative of a possible traffic source for Zn. A review from the literature on the Zn isotopic composition of terrestrial materials is reported but a few reservoirs seem to have specific compositions. According to the actual precision obtained, Zn isotopes for tracing pollution sources might not be straightforward but might be potentially useful for specific studies.

Learn more about these metrics Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days. The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online.

Le Petit Robert

Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on.