RECEPTOR MODELING FOR INHALABLE ATMOSPHERIC PARTICLES IN SAO-PAULO, BRAZIL

Aerosol samples were collected with stacked filter units (SFUs) at the Sao Paulo University Campus during the winter of 1989. The fine and coarse filters of the SFU samples were analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and the data were subjected to an absolute principal component analysis (APCA) in order to identify the major aerosol sources and to apportion the particulate mass to these sources. Five sources were identified for the fine particles: industrial emissions, which accounted for 13% of the fine mass; emissions from residual oil and diesel, explaining 41%; resuspended soil dust, with 28%; and emissions of Cu and of Mg, with together 18% (these elements could not be attributed to any specific source). For the coarse particles, four sources were identified: soil dust, accounting for 59% of the coarse mass; industrial emissions, with 19%; oil burning, with 8%; and sea-salt aerosol, with 14% of the coarse mass.