Pb Isotopic Composition of Airborne Particulate Material from France and the Southern United Kingdom: Implications for Pb Pollution Sources in Urban Areas

Abstract

PB isotopic studies of airborne particulate matter, incinerator ash, and gasoline have been carried out to determine sources of Pb pollution in urban areas from France and the southern United Kingdom. Pb 206-207 isotopes ratios in gasoline range from 1.061 to 1.094 (average values are 1.084 for France and 1.067 for the UK) while for industrially-derived Pb, Pb 206-207 isotopes ratios vary from 1.143 to 1.155. Natural Pb is more radiogenic and literature values for pre-industrial sediments give Pb 206-207 isotopes ratios of 1.19-1.20 in France and 1.17-1.19 in the UK. The measured Pb isotopic signature of airborne particulate matter reflects the relative importance of each of these sources, and samples taken from urban areas close to traffic in France and the UK show Pb 206-207 isotopes ratios that vary widely from 1.085 to 1.158. While alkyl-lead additives in gasoline are typically still the dominant source of Pb in urban particulate matter, the relative importance of gasoline-derived Pb has decreased, and as a result other sources (industrial and natural) can be identified using isotopic studies. This is a consequence of recent EU environmental legislation that significantly limits concentrations of Pb in gasoline and the increased market penetration of unleaded gasoline. In addition, at a given location, the Pb isotopic composition of particulate matter can vary considerably due to temporal variations in sources (ie variations in traffic density) and with wind direction. (A)