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Historical trends of metals concentration in PM10 collected in the Mexico City metropolitan area between 2004 and 2014

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Abstract

In this work, we report metals concentrations in 80 PM10 samples collected at four sites in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA): Tlalnepantla (NE), Xalostoc (NE), Merced (C), and Pedregal (S), during the dry/cold season (October to January) for the 2004–2014 period. Mean PM10 mass concentration (66.1 µg m−3) significantly exceeds the annual mean air quality guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization. The statistical analysis of concentration data and meteorological parameters allows us to recognize the importance of wind intensity speed (Wsp) and wind direction conditions in the enrichment of PM concentrations. The proximity and magnitude of the emitting source is also relevant for PM concentration. Such conditions favored that higher metal concentration was recognized at the north of the studied area. By means principal component analysis (PCA) was difficult to identify the groups of metals associated with specific sources (anthropogenic and geogenic) given the high complexity of the study area and the long period of time evaluated. Metal concentration trend shows an important positive trend for Pt, V and Cr, while PM10, Ni, Cu, Ag and Sb show a trend of moderate increase. In contrast, Pb and Co registered a strong percentage reduction, while Hg, Mn, As and Cd show a slight reduction, probably resulting from the implementation of regulatory measures and influenced by urban changes associated at the north of the studied area. The results of this research provide information that should be considered for evaluating the impact of anthropogenic sources and applying regulatory measures to control emissions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México for the financial support provided (Project IN103717). We acknowledge also the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de la Ciudad de México for providing the study samples. The authors would like to thank Dr. Isidro Montes-Ávila for his valuable collaboration in the interpretation of geochemical data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04150, Cd. de México, Mexico

    Ofelia Morton-Bermea, Elizabeth Hernández-Alvarez & Sara Ordoñez-Godínez

  2. Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Cd. de México, Mexico

    Manuel Alejandro Almorín-Ávila

  3. Instituto de Geología and Labotarorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Cd. de México, Mexico

    Laura Bermendi-Orosco

  4. Independent Researcher, Cd. de México, Mexico

    Armando Retama

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  1. Ofelia Morton-Bermea
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  2. Elizabeth Hernández-Alvarez
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  3. Manuel Alejandro Almorín-Ávila
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Correspondence to Ofelia Morton-Bermea.

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Morton-Bermea, O., Hernández-Alvarez, E., Almorín-Ávila, M.A. et al. Historical trends of metals concentration in PM10 collected in the Mexico City metropolitan area between 2004 and 2014. Environ Geochem Health 43, 2781–2798 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00838-w

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