Description:

In spite of the reduced flux of lead to the atmosphere from the combustion of leaded gasoline, anthropogenic sources still dominate the supply of lead to the atmosphere and the environment. Emissions from coal and oil combustion, industrial processes, and municipal incineration will all become more important in controlling the lead isotopic ratios in ambient air and precipitation in the future. The measurement of lead isotope ratios coupled with other trace element determinations on a spatial and temporal basis can potentially be used to differentiate between, and trace the local and regional movement of aerosols from these different sources of pollution. From samples of precipitation and ambient air collected under ongoing studies of Hg and trace element transport and deposition, the concept of using lead isotopes as a tracer will be tested on several scales: 1) locally, by focusing on an area with several well defined point sources (in the south Florida/Everglades region) and 2) over a larger geographic area, by examining regional versus urban influences in the Great Lakes region.

URLs/Downloads:

keeler.html

1998 Progress Report

Final Progress Report

Record Details:

Record Type:PROJECT( ABSTRACT )

Start Date:12/01/1997

Completion Date:11/30/1998

Record ID: 52418

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Related Organizations:

Role :OWNER

Organization Name :SUNY AT BINGHAMTON

Mailing Address :Vestal Pky

Citation :Binghamton

State :NY

Zip Code :13902



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Citation :Ann Arbor

State :MI

Zip Code :48109

Project Information:

Approach :The low concentrations of lead in precipitation and ambient air, the potential for contamination during sampling, and the time and expense involved in measuring isotope ratios to high precision are reasons why this tracer approach has not been used extensively to date. Through clean sampling techniques coupled with use of a hybrid instrument (the Plasma 54) it will be demonstrated that measurements of lead isotope ratios from samples with low concentrations can be time and cost efficient. The traditional method to measure isotope ratios to high precision involves thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) which is extremely costly and time consuming. The use of inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure lead isotope ratios is an alternative to TIMS. High throughput and low cost are possible with this method, but quite often the precision of the ratios is not adequate to unambiguously define pollutant sources. To achieve high precision analyses and fast, cost efficient throughput, an instrument that combines the speed of ICP-MS with the precision of TIMS is needed, and the Plasma 54 is such an instrument.

Cost :$99,776.00

Research Component :Engineering and Environmental Chemistry

Project IDs:

ID Code :R826177

Project type :EPA Grant