Ambient levels of carbonyl compounds and their possible sources were studied at three places in the metropolitan area of Costa Rica, including a residential, an industrial, and a commercial downtown area with high vehicular flow, during the periods of April-May and September-December 2009. Fifteen carbonyl compounds were identified in the ambient air, of which acetone was the most abundant carbonyl, followed by formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Concentrations were highest in rainy season at all sites and lower in dry season. These decreases in concentration are explained by the influences of both photochemical reactions and local meteorological conditions. The strong correlation between C1-C2 and C3 indicated a common origin for these carbonyls. The C1/C2 ratios varied between 0.49 to 1.05, values which can be considered typical of an urban area.
In this work, receptor models were used to identify the PM 2.5 sources and its contribution to the air quality in residential, comercial and industrial sampling sites in the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica. Principal component analysis with absolute principal component scores (PCA-APCS), UNIMX and positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to analyze the data collected during 1 year of sampling campaign (2010)(2011). The PM 2.5 samples were characterized through its composition looking for trace elements, inorganic ions and organic and elemental carbon. These three models identified some common sources of PM 2.5 : marine aerosol, crustal material, traffic, secondary aerosols (secondary sulfate and secondary nitrate resolved by PMF), a mixed source of heavy fuels combustion and biomass burning, and industrial emissions. The three models predicted that the major sources of PM 2.5 in the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica were related to anthropogenic sources (73%, 65% and 69%, respectively, for PCA-APCS, Unmix and PMF) although natural sources also contributed to PM 2.5 (21%, 24% and 26%). On average, PCA and PMF methods resolved 94% and 95% of the PM 2.5 mass concentrations, respectively. The results were comparable to the estimate using UNMIX.
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