Use of INAA and PIXE for multipollutant air quality assessment and management

The objective of this paper was to assess the air pollution and the main sources of Air Particulate Matter in the Setubal urban/industrial area, Portugal. PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 were sampled in Nuclepore filters and lichens transplants were exposed during 9 months. The levels of elements in these two matrixes were measured by INAA and PIXE. A large data base was created and source apportionment was performed by using Principal Component Analysis. The results showed that the main sources of fine particles were anthropogenic and were related with traffic and local industry. There was an important contribution of natural sources, mainly for the coarse fraction, associated with the sea and the soil. Lichens characterization and mapping showed that different site-specific characteristics controlled the spatial distribution of different elements. This study showed that biomonitoring is an effective complementary method to traditional sampling systems. (author)