DEVELOPMENT OF AN APPARATUS FOR THE DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT OF THE METALLIC AEROSOL CONCENTRATIONS IN ATMOSPHERIC AIR IN-SITU AND IN REAL-TIME - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS

An apparatus for monitoring the air quality with regard to metallic aerosol concentrations (ultra-fine powders of metal, dust, flying ash) on-line and in real time is described. It is similar to those used in classical optical spectroanalysis: pollutants are atomized, excited and ionized in an inductively coupled plasma and they are identified for their optical spectrum. The problems related to calibration and detection limits obtained with this apparatus are discussed. The first results concerning the detection of some metals (Be, Co, Cd and Pb) are shown. The detection limits obtained for the metals in this preliminary study are lower than the actual threshold limit values, which are considered as upper concentration limits for human health and environment.