Gaseous and particulate atmospheric mercury concentrations in the Campinas Metropolitan Region (Sao Paulo State, Brazil)

The concentrations of Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) and Total Particulate Mercury (TPM) were monitored during the 2002-2003 rainy and dry seasons at two sampling points (industrial and residential areas) of the Campinas Metropolitan Region. No significant difference was observed between the concentrations found at the two sampling areas and the mean values were 7.0 +/- 5.8 ng M-3 (TGM) and 0.4 +/- 0.3 ng m(-3) (TPM). The analysis of the diel variability showed higher TGM concentrations during the day, which could be related to more intense anthropogenic activity during the day. Atmospheric dispersion processes could also explain some seasonal variation observed in TGM concentrations. For TPM concentrations a decreasing trend was observed during the rainy season, which could be explained by the removal of particles by wet deposition. The concentrations of TGM and TPM found in this study were of the same order of magnitude of those recorded in some highly industrialized regions of the northern hemisphere. These data show that emissions from the most industrialized Brazilian regions, and probably from similar regions in other countries of the southern hemisphere, should also be assessed and integrated into the global anthropogenic mercury emission assessment.