Analysis of settled dust with X-ray Fluorescence for exposure assessment of metals in the province of Brescia, Italy

Ferroalloy industries have been active for more than a century in the province of Brescia, Northern Italy. Air emission and water discharge have contaminated the environment in the surroundings of four plants with several metals including manganese. The presence of manganese in this region is especi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental monitoring 2009-09, Vol.11 (9), p.1579-1585
Main Authors: Zacco, Annalisa, Resola, Sergio, Lucchini, Roberto, Albini, Elisa, Zimmerman, Neil, Guazzetti, Stefano, Bontempi, Elza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dust - analysis
Environmental Exposure - analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollutants - analysis
Geographic Information Systems
Geography
Iron - analysis
Italy
Manganese - analysis
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission - methods
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Summary:Ferroalloy industries have been active for more than a century in the province of Brescia, Northern Italy. Air emission and water discharge have contaminated the environment in the surroundings of four plants with several metals including manganese. The presence of manganese in this region is especially interesting, because of the observed relationship between manganese exposure and Parkinsonism in a previous epidemiological survey. The aim of this study was represented by an initial screening of metal exposure in this area, using a geographic information system. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was applied to identify heavy metals in deposited dust samples, collected in representative residential households throughout the province. The results were interpreted through a systematic mapping of all municipal districts of the Brescia province. A more frequent distribution of manganese and other metals was observed in the municipalities where the plants were located and differences in the geochemical and anthropogenic origin of metals were discussed, according to the point sources.
ISSN:1464-0325
1464-0333
DOI:10.1039/b906430c