Comparative studies on the concentrations of some elements in the urban air particulate matter in Lodz City of Poland and in Milan, Italy

Urban air particulate matter (APM) was collected at two sampling sites in the city of Lodz, Poland in March, May and July 2001. The concentrations of several trace elements (TEs) as well as heavy metals were determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA). It was found that for many elements, the contribution of the blank values arising from the filtering material is very high, especially for glass fiber filters. The results obtained for Lodz were compared to those obtained for Milan, Italy. The data of Lodz are, in general, lower than those found in Milan downtown in the winter season. The influence of three coal-fired power plants located within the city of Lodz on the concentration of trace elements in APM was also considered. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.