CHEMISTRY OF INDIVIDUAL AEROSOL-PARTICLES FROM CHANDLER, ARIZONA, AN ARID URBAN-ENVIRONMENT

Atmospheric aerosol particles, collected at a site in Chandler, AZ, over a 12-day period in February and March 1982, were chemically analyzed with an automated scanning electron microscope. The fine-particle fraction, with minimum average diameters of 0. 4 mu m, and effective maximum diameters of about 2 mu m, contains numerous types of Pb-, Cu-, Zn-, P-, and S-bearing particles, most of probable anthropogenic origin. The concentrations of selected particle types, each with distinct elemental associations, have been tracked over the sampling period, thereby providing information about particle emission and transport. The concentrations of particle types containing one or more metals and S were strongly dependent upon prevailing wind direction; the predominant source was copper smelters located to the southeast of Phoenix. Additional aspects of the study are discussed.