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Monitoring of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in San Juan city, Argentina, using active samplers and the species Tillandsia capillaris

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Abstract

The concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) was studied in San Juan city, Argentina, during winter and spring of 2017. Samplers of particulate matter (PM) and individuals of the plant species Tillandsia capillaris were placed in the centre of the city to be used as a biomonitors of atmospheric particulate matter. The PM filters and PM deposited in T. capillaris leaves were analysed to measure particle concentration and concentrations of elements (K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Sr, Ba and Pb) using X-ray fluorescence by synchrotron radiation (SR-XRF). Linear regression analysis showed significant positive correlations between PM concentration in the atmosphere and the particles deposited on T. capillaris leaves. The elements quantified in PM2.5 and PM10 filters were subjected to a principal component analysis, which showed the presence of three emission sources in the study area (soil, vehicular traffic and industry) in both fractions. It was not possible to conduct this analysis with the elements obtained from the extraction of T. capillaris leaves, since most of them are solubilised at the moment of extraction. Biomonitoring with T. capillaris might be used to estimate the concentration of particulate matter in large areas or in remote sites with no electrical power supply to run active samplers. Further studies should be carried out in other regions, and more variables should be incorporated to obtain increasingly deterministic models.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the sworn English translator Jorgefina Brasca for language revision.

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Técnica (FONCyT, PICT), Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Consolidar 2019/2021), Brazilian Synchrotron Light Source (LNLS, Proposal 20150094) and the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CONICET, Instituto de Altos Estudios Espaciales ‘Mario Gulich’, UNC-CONAE, Falda del Cañete, Córdoba, Argentina

    Mariela Lucía Aguilera Sammaritano & Pablo Marcelo Cometto

  2. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas (ICB), Facultad de Filosofía, Humanidades y Artes, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, San Juan, Argentina

    Daniel Alfredo Bustos

  3. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET and Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Eduardo Daniel Wannaz

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  1. Mariela Lucía Aguilera Sammaritano
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  2. Pablo Marcelo Cometto
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  3. Daniel Alfredo Bustos
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  4. Eduardo Daniel Wannaz
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Contributions

MLAS: Collection of samples of particulate material, exposure of biomonitors, data collection, data analysis. PMC: Discussion of the results and writing of the manuscript. DAB: Support in data collection, discussion of results and writing of the manuscript. EDW: Methodology planning, analysis of measured elements in filters and biomonitors, acquisition of funds and administration of funds, data analysis, writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Eduardo Daniel Wannaz.

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Aguilera Sammaritano, M.L., Cometto, P.M., Bustos, D.A. et al. Monitoring of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in San Juan city, Argentina, using active samplers and the species Tillandsia capillaris. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 32962–32972 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13174-4

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