Trace Metal Levels in Vehicle Air and Pollen Filter Dusts by the BCR Extraction Procedure

The availability of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Fe and Zn of dust from vehicle air and pollen filters were investigated by four-step BCR (European Community Bureau of Reference) sequential extraction procedure. The acid-soluble, reducible, oxidizable, residual extracts were measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results indicated that both of air and pollen filter dusts contained higher concentration of Fe. To estimate the accuracy of the method the standard reference material BCR 701 was used. The results for recovery all the elements were found in the range 95.4-101.3%. The mean concentrations [μg/g] of trace elements in dusts from air filters/pollen filters were: cadmium 16.72/17.56; cobalt 24.22/23.72; chromium 46.02/55.44; copper 44.92/37.67; iron 1868.03/1854.92; manganese 231.2/213.64; nickel 38.89/45.27; lead 60.99/67.17; zinc 199.58/201.25. The results obtained are in agreement with data reported in the literature.