title: Temporal trends of elements in Turin (Italy) atmospheric particulate matter from 1976 to 2001.
abstract: The temporal trends of major, minor and trace elements in the total atmospheric particulate sampled in the urban area of Turin (Italy) were determined for the following years: 1976, 1986, 1996 and 2001. The wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) technique was adopted to determine the concentrations of Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Ti and Zn. A smaller number of samples was also analysed by ICP atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and the results were compared with those obtained by WD-XRF to confirm their validity. A clear seasonal pattern with higher concentrations of the aforementioned elements in the cold periods was observed. Moreover, a change in the chemical composition of atmospheric particulate matter was evidenced, particularly between the first (1976 and 1986) and the last (1996 and 2001) years. This change can be attributed both to the greater contribution of Pb and Br to atmospheric pollution in the past and, in recent years, to the higher level of pollutants associated with increased vehicular traffic and industrial activities. The application of chemometric techniques (Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis) allowed us to speculate about the main emitting sources influencing the total atmospheric particulate in these years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Università di Torino, Via Giuria 7, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Mery
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malandrino
authors.affiliation: Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente (ARPA Piemonte), Via Pio VII, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Martino
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università di Torino, Via Giuria 9, Torino, Italy. Electronic address: agnese.giacomino@unito.it.
authors.forename: Agnese
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giacomino
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Geobaldo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Università di Torino, Via Giuria 7, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berto
authors.affiliation: Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente (ARPA Piemonte), Via Pio VII, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Grosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Università di Torino, Via Giuria 7, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Abollino
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007558:Italy; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D014131:Trace Elements