Abstract
Particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5 ) is responsible for serious human health problems. Therefore, this study determines the quantitative contribution of the sources of both particles at main cities of Mantaro Valley, located in central Peru. The obtained data in the monthly monitoring campaign of urban sites of Jauja, Concepcion and Huancayo, from July 2007 to October 2008 are analyzed. A low-volume sampler (Partisol model) was used for monitoring. Elemental chemical composition was obtained by X-ray fluorescence, and principal component analysis with varimax rotation and absolute principal component analysis were applied. Chemical element groupings were contrasted with enrichment factor and hierarchical cluster analysis. The results showed that PM 10 and PM 2.5 were significantly higher in Huancayo (p < 0.05), urban area where the National Air Quality Standards for both particle sizes were exceeded. Natural and anthropogenic source tracers were determined. In total, five emission sources were detected for the urban sites of the Mantaro Valley: soil dust (Al, Ca, Si, Fe, Ti, Mn and K), biomass burning (Cl, Br, K), vehicles (Cu, Zn, Cl, Cr), fuel-oil (Ni) and smelting (Pb, Zn, As and Cu), being soil dust the main source of PM 10 and PM 2.5 .
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