Airborne particulate matter: Ionic species role in different Italian sites

Epidemiological studies have provided evidences for an association between exposure to elevated levels of ambient particulate matter (PM) and increased mortality and morbidity. However, the exact physiochemical nature of the responsible component is not clear. Secondary airborne PM formed from gas-phase pollutants contributes significantly to the most severe particulate air quality events. Although chemical formation for ionic species of aerosol have been observed, they have not been well reported for local variation. This work evaluates the amount of secondary particulate ionic species: sulfates (SO(4)(2-)) and nitrates (NO(3)(-)), chlorides (Cl(-)) and the mutagenic activities of PM10 extracts in different Italian sites (one Southern, one Central and three Northern; in one of the latter also PM2.5 has been evaluated). In general, mean secondary species concentration constitutes about 35-45% of PM10 mass in the North sites, 15% in the center site and 20% in the South site and it is positively associated with PM10 levels. There are significant local differences in the mean levels of PM10 ionic constituents: NO(3)(-) are predominant in northern cities, SO(4)(2-) are more equally distributed and coastal southern city is abundant in Cl(-). Samples were also tested for mutagenicity with Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100, with and without metabolic activation; mutagenicity did not correlate with PM10 concentrations. The results showed the important roles and the geographical variability of PM secondary species in the total mass PM10 concentrations and the usefulness of this biological approach for monitoring PM to understand hazards from PM.