Elemental Carbon Concentration in the Air Around Tampa Bay, Florida, 1990-1991

Abstract

Elemental carbon (EC) particles have been found in the lungs of dolphins. The question arose as to whether these particles originated over land or water. This project determined the amount of EC particulate found in terrestrial air. Portions of paniculate filters and associated data collected during the period from January 1990 through December 1991 were provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. Using reflectance spectroscopy and laboratory-generated standards, atmospheric concentrations of EC and TSP were determined. This paper addresses the data from those counties which surround Tampa Bay. In the spring of 1992, a television news station reported that researchers at Mote Marine Institute had found black carbon particulates in the lungs of dolphins (reported as “...dolphins with Black Lung Disease...). The dolphins were found in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.1 In discussions with a principal investigator of the dolphin study, the question arose as to whether these pa...