Ambient Air Particulate Matter Sampling and Multi-Elemental Measurement by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (Draft)

摘要

Ambient airborne particulate matter (PM) monitoring and sampling werernperformed at two rural sites in Alberta during the period of 1997-1999 using dichotomousrnand Versatile Air Pollutant Samplers, respectively. Either coarse (PM_(2.5-10)) or fine (PM_(2.5))rnparticulate was collected on a Teflo or a Zefluor PTFE membrane filter. The net PMrnmass on the filters was determined by weighing them before and after sampling with arnmicro-balance in a temperature and relative humidity controlled environment. Thernairborne particulate matter samples were prepared and digested with a mixture of nitricrnacid and hydrofluoric acid in closed vessels at a constant temperature. The digestedrnsolutions were then diluted and analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma-massrnspectrometer (ICP-MS) for about 50 isotopes and up to 36 elements. Laboratory filterrnblanks, field blanks and NIST standard reference materials (SRMs), including Coal FlyrnAsh (1633b) and Urban Particulate Matter (1648) were digested and analyzed togetherrnwith the field samples to check the purity of the Teflo and Zefluor filters and the accuracyrnand precision of the analytical method.