Elemental composition of airborne particulate matter from Santiago City, Chile, 1976

Abstract

In Chile, the State Public Health Office (Ministerio de Salud Pública) is responsible for pollution control and for air quality. This office has been monitoring only toxic gases and total suspended particulate matter.1.2 The present work is the first study in Chile designed to determine trace elements and their concentrations in particulate matter in the air. By use of enrichment factors, 25 trace elements are classified according to natural or anthropogenic origin.