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Pb isotopic composition of airborne particulate material from France and the southern United Kingdom: implications for Pb pollution sources in urban areas

Pb isotopic composition of airborne particulate material from France and the southern United Kingdom: implications for Pb pollution sources in urban areas
Pb isotopic composition of airborne particulate material from France and the southern United Kingdom: implications for Pb pollution sources in urban areas
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 sediments 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.
0013-936X
2277-2286
Monna, Fabrice
6c910e93-9091-4e5d-9d2e-0ac2fcd40c2c
Lancelot, Joël
3acba167-67cd-493c-b178-16150ddbad39
Croudace, Ian W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Cundy, Andrew B.
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08
Lewis, James T.
e916aa95-bb3c-4720-8860-4a60a7e1f8f4
Monna, Fabrice
6c910e93-9091-4e5d-9d2e-0ac2fcd40c2c
Lancelot, Joël
3acba167-67cd-493c-b178-16150ddbad39
Croudace, Ian W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Cundy, Andrew B.
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08
Lewis, James T.
e916aa95-bb3c-4720-8860-4a60a7e1f8f4

Monna, Fabrice, Lancelot, Joël, Croudace, Ian W., Cundy, Andrew B. and Lewis, James T. (1997) Pb isotopic composition of airborne particulate material from France and the southern United Kingdom: implications for Pb pollution sources in urban areas. Environmental Science & Technology, 31 (8), 2277-2286. (doi:10.1021/es960870+).

Record type: Article

Abstract

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 sediments 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.

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Published date: 30 July 1997
Organisations: Geochemistry

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Local EPrints ID: 399536
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/399536
ISSN: 0013-936X
PURE UUID: 8677f180-9952-40cc-9b3d-bd8131ff0e02
ORCID for Andrew B. Cundy: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4368-2569

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Date deposited: 18 Aug 2016 10:28
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:52

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Contributors

Author: Fabrice Monna
Author: Joël Lancelot
Author: Ian W. Croudace
Author: Andrew B. Cundy ORCID iD
Author: James T. Lewis

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