AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Evaluation and Characterization of PM 2.5 (Metals and EC-OC) in Site Cecyte on the Basin Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
RITA ZURITA FRIAS, Guillermo Rodriguez, Javier Emmanuel Castillo-Quiñones, Deisy Sugey Toledo Arangure, Nina Bogdanchikova, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico
Abstract Number: 702 Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico has a monitoring program for air quality criteria pollutants (SPA, 2012-2020). It includes five monitoring stations within the Tijuana –Rosarito air basin and it reports concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxide (SOx).
Studies have identified pollutant transport patterns where plumes originated in Tijuana moved southeast and east during the day. Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has been previously linked to several adverse health effects, including but not limited to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. A particular PM fraction that is known to exert toxic effects is transition metals.
In this study, PM2.5 samples were collected in the southeast of the Tijuana basin using the US EPA-S.O.P.–MDL-016 method, during the period April to October 2014. To measure the total concentration of trace metals, filters were analyzed following EPA-S.O.P.-MLD 005 method. The digested extracts were then analyzed by ICP-OES. Organic Carbon and Elemental Carbon (EC-OC) we analyzed following the NIOSH EC-OC method.
Results show that the average concentration of PM2.5 was 16.8 µg/m3. The total concentration of metals was 319 ng/m3. Aluminum (81.78 ng/m3) was the most abundant , followed by Cooper (40.90 ng/m3), Zinc (32.94 ng/m3) and Lead (30.92 ng/m3). These high concentrations of metals could also be associated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cellular studies being conducted. For EC-OC, results show that the Organic Carbon (9.83 µg/m3) is higher than the Elemental Carbon (2.05 µg/m3) and they may help determine the sources of this pollution.