Clarification of the predominant emission sources of antimony in airborne particulate matter and estimation of their effects on the atmosphere in Japan

Abstract

Environmental context. The remarkable enrichment of potentially toxic antimony (Sb) in inhalable airborne particulate matter has become of great environmental concern among recent air pollution issues. The present study clarifies the predominant sources of Sb by focusing on the similarities in elemental composition, particle size distributions, and microscopic images found in ambient airborne particles and several potential sources. We identify automotive brake abrasion dust and fly ash emitted from waste incineration as dominant sources of atmospheric Sb in Japan. These results will contribute towards an in-depth understanding of the cycles and fates of Sb in the environment. Abstract. By focusing on the similarities in elemental composition, particle size distributions of elemental concentrations, and microscopic images between ambient airborne particulate matter (APM) and several potential sources, we discuss the predominant sources of antimony (Sb) in APM in Japan. The distribution of Sb concentration in size-classified ambient APM showed a characteristic bimodal profile in which peaks were found in coarse (3.6–5.2 μm) and fine (0.5–0.7 μm) fractions. Elemental ratios, particle sizes, and microscopic images observed in the coarse APM fractions were found to be in good agreement with those of brake abrasion dust. However, in the fine APM fractions, fly ash originating from waste incineration was identified as the most probable source of Sb. Chemical mass balance analysis was performed to determine the effects of the emission sources of Sb, and it was revealed that brake abrasion dust and waste fly ash were the dominant sources of Sb in the coarser and the finer fractions of APM, respectively. The present study provides important clues to understanding the cycles and fates of Sb in the environment.

Cardiopulmonary responses in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats exposed to concentrated ambient particles from Detroit, Michigan

“…Lanthanum is usually associated with oil and/or refining plants, especially when the ratio of La:Sm is greater than 20 (in the current study, the ratio was 129) (Olmez and Gordon, 1985). Antimony (Sb) has been associated with traffic-related emissions in general (Gomez et al, 2005), and automotive brake abrasion dust in particular (Iijima et al, 2009), waste incineration (Iijima et al, 2009), and oil refinery catalytic cracker emissions (Chow et al, 2004). Ce is also associated with refinery catalytic emissions.…”

Assessment of selected metals in the ambient air PM10 in urban sites of Bangkok (Thailand)

“…Sample preparation and analytical procedure were described in detail in the previous studies (Iijima et al 2009(Iijima et al , 2010. Briefly, sample-loaded filters were placed into PTFE vessels and digested in a mixture of 2 mL of hydrofluoric acid (50 % atomic absorption spectrometry grade; Kanto Chemical Co. Inc.), 3 mL of nitric acid (60 % electronic laboratory grade; Kanto Chemical Co. Inc.) and 1 mL of hydrogen peroxide (30 % atomic absorption spectrometry grade; Kanto Chemical Co. Inc.) in a microwave digestion system (Multiwave; Anton Parr GmbH).…”

Feasibility of the Detection of Trace Elements in Particulate Matter Using Online High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

“…Similarly, antimony had been thought to be emitted mainly by coal combustion and metallurgical processes. However, the use of Sb as flame retardant for plastics and chemical fabrics and lubricants for automotive brake friction materials, have increased the number of possible sources (Iijima et al 2009). In fact, submicron antimony has been recently suggested as a tracer for trash burning in Mexico City (Christian et al 2010;Hodzic et al 2012).…”