Source apportionment of PM10 and health risk assessment related in a narrow tropical valley. Study case: Metropolitan area of Aburrá Valley (Colombia)

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 30; no. 21; pp. 60036 - 60049
• Main Authors: Ramos-Contreras, Carlos, Piñeiro-Iglesias, María, Concha-Graña, Estefanía, Sánchez-Piñero, Joel, Moreda-Piñeiro, Jorge, Franco-Uría, Amaya, López-Mahía, Purificación, Molina-Pérez, Francisco, Muniategui-Lorenzo, Soledad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-05-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid digestion; Aerosols; Aluminum; Antimony; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bismuth; Black carbon; Calcium; Carbon; Carbon isotopes; Carcinogens; Combustion; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Fluoranthene; Gas chromatography; Health risks; Indene; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Inhalation; Isotope ratios; Magnesium; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metal concentrations; Meteorology; Metropolitan areas; Organic carbon; Particulate matter; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Research Article; Residential areas; Respiration; Risk assessment; Sampling; Scientific imaging; Solvent extraction; Temporal variations; Total organic carbon; Trace levels; Valleys; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Colombia; Metal(oid)s; δ; C carbon isotope ratios; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Particulate matter; Health risk assessment; Source apportionment
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26710-1

This study investigates spatio-temporal variations of PM
10
mass concentrations and associated metal(oid)s, δ
13
C carbon isotope ratios, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), total organic carbon (TOC) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations over a half year period (from March 2017 to October 2017) in two residential areas of Medellín (MED-1 and MED-2) and Itagüí municipality (ITA-1 and ITA-2) at a tropical narrow valley (Aburrá Valley, Colombia), where few data are available. A total of 104 samples were analysed by using validated analytical methodologies, providing valuable data for PM
10
chemical characterisation. Metal(oid)s concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after acid digestion, and PAHs concentrations were measured by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) after Pressurised Hot Water Extraction (PHWE) and Membrane Assisted Solvent Extraction (MASE). Mean PM
10
mass concentration ranged from 37.0 µg m
−3
to 45.7 µg m
−3
in ITA-2 and MED-2 sites, respectively. Al, Ca, Mg and Na (from 6249 ng m
−3
for Mg at MED-1 site to 10,506 ng m
−3
for Ca at MED-2 site) were the major elements in PM
10
samples, whilst As, Be, Bi, Co, Cs, Li, Ni, Sb, Se, Tl and V were found at trace levels (< 5.4 ng m
−3
). Benzo[g,h,i] perylene (BghiP), benzo[b + j]fluoranthene (BbjF) and indene(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene (IcdP) were the most profuse PAHs in PM
10
samples, with average concentrations of 0.82–0.86, 0.60–0.78 and 0.47–0.58 ng m
−3
, respectively. Results observed in the four sampling sites showed a similar dispersion pattern of pollutants, with temporal fluctuations which seems to be associated to the meteorology of the valley. A PM source apportionment study were carried out by using the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, pointing to re-suspended dust, combustion processes, quarry activity and secondary aerosols as PM
10
sources in the study area. Among them, combustion was the major PM
10
contribution (accounting from 32.1 to 32.9% in ITA-1 and ITA-2, respectively), followed by secondary aerosols (accounting for 13.2% and 23.3% ITA-1 and MED-1, respectively). Finally, a moderate carcinogenic risk was observed for PM
10
-bound PAHs exposure via inhalation, whereas significant carcinogenic risk was estimated for carcinogenic metal(oid)s exposure in the area during the sampling period.