Source identification and exposure assessment to PM10 in the Eastern Carpathians, Romania

Abstract

Observations of particulate matter less than 10 µm (PM10) were conducted from January to December in 2015 in the Ciuc basin, Eastern Carpathians, Romania. Daily concentrations of PM10 ranged from 10.90 to 167.70 µg/m3, with an annual mean concentration of 46.31 µg/m3, which is higher than the European Union limit of 40 µg/m3. Samples were analyzed for a total of 21 elements. O, C and Si were the most abundant elements accounting for about 85% of the PM10 mass. Source identification showed that the elemental composition of PM10 is represented by post volcanic activity, crustal origin, and anthropogenic sources, caused by the resuspension of crustal material, sea salt and soil dust. The average PM10 composition was 72.10% soil, 20.92% smoke K, 13.84% salt, 1.53% sulfate and 1.02% organic matter. The back-trajectory analysis showed that the majority of PM10 pollution comes from the West, Southwest and South.