P. Prati et al., Source apportionment near a steel plant in Genoa (Italy) by continuous aerosol sampling and PIXE analysis, ATMOS ENVIR, 34(19), 2000, pp. 3149-3157
The particulate emissions near a large steel plant, located inside the town
of Genoa (Italy) have been studied from May to December 1997. We have used
two-stage continuous streaker samples and subsequent PIXE (particle-induce
d X-ray emission) analysis with hourly resolution, to follow both seasonal
and daily trends. A first streaker sampler remained installed very close to
the plant cokery and furnaces, while another sampler was moved to differen
t locations in town. Samples were analysed by PIXE, deducing concentrations
for elements from Na to Pb. We have always collected the PM10 fraction of
the aerosol: during part of the campaign, the fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.
5-10) aerosol fractions have been also resolved. We have measured and analy
sed about 8500 PIXE spectra. The steel plant emissions have been identified
and resolved from other aerosol sources using principal component analysis
(PCA) and other statistical techniques. Finally, the impact of the steel s
melter on its surrounding has been evaluated. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd
. All rights reserved.