Aerosol characterisation in Italian towns by IBA techniques

The composition of particulate matter in the atmosphere of four major Italian towns (Florence, Genoa, Milan and Naples) has been studied with the extensive application of IBA techniques. The aerosol has been collected simultaneously in the four towns during the first weeks of year 2001, by two-stage continuous streaker samplers, which provide the separation of the particulate matter in two fractions. The concentrations in air of about 20 elements, and the total particulate mass, have been extracted in the PM2.5 and PM10 fractions with hourly resolution by PIXE, PIGE and optical analyses of about 2700 samples. IBA analyses have been performed at the 3 MeV external proton beam of the INFN accelerator facility at the University of Florence. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.