Monitoring trace elements generated by automobiles: air pollutants with possible health impacts
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Monitoring trace elements generated by automobiles: air pollutants with possible health impacts Khaleeq Anwar & Sohail Ejaz & Muhammad Ashraf & Nisar Ahmad & Aqeel Javeed
Received: 24 September 2012 / Accepted: 29 November 2012 / Published online: 21 December 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Abstract Major transformations in the environmental composition are principally attributable to the combustion of fuels by automobiles. Motorized gasoline-powered twostroke auto-rickshaws (TSA) and compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered four-stroke auto-rickshaws (FSA) are potential source of air pollution in south Asia and produce toxic amount of particulate matter (PM) to the environment. In this study, we attempted to characterize elemental pollutants from the PM of TSA and FSA using proton-induced Xray emission (PIXE) analysis. The observations of the existing investigation recognized significant increase in Al (P2-fold higher than the NIES limit, respectively. In comparison, extensive increase in the concentration of K (>6-fold) and Mg (>3-fold) was perceived in all FSA samples (Fig. 4). Despite the fact that no significant difference was observed in the Mn concentrations of TSA samples and control values, the concentrations of Mn in FSA samples ranged far beyond the safety limit. PIXE analysis of TSA samples revealed considerable amount of Na in majority of PM samples, which ranged from 1,333 to 8,486 μg/gm and significantly exceeded the NIES limit (Table 2). Heterogeneous distribution with nonsignificant difference from the control values were quantified in all FSA samples (except FSA4; Table 3). The concentration of P was, by far, one of the most abundant elements appraised beyond the permitted limit in majority of TSA samples with maximum concentration in TSA 4. Strikingly, considerable amount of P was also revealed in all FSA samples. Although the concentration varied extensively, the average concentration evaluated was significantly (P
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