Armin Sorooshian publishes new article
Dec. 30, 2012
Hot off the press! UA SRP Investigator, Armin Sorooshian along with other UA “dust group” investigators, has just published an Environmental Science and Technology article entitled “Hygroscopic and Chemical Properties of Aerosols Collected near a Copper Smelter: Implications for Public and Environmental Health”. This research highlights the importance of understanding particulate behavior in relation to human health. This group is studying particulate matter emissions near active copper smelters and mine tailings in the southwestern United States.
Their work is showing that particulates inhaled into the lung can grow in size as they enter this humidified compartment. Specifically, this study reports the first simultaneous measurements of size-resolved chemical and hygroscopic properties of particles next to an active copper smelter and mine tailings by the towns of Hayden and Winkelman in southern Arizona. Size-resolved particulate matter samples were examined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, ion chromatography, and a humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer. Aerosol particles collected at the measurement site are enriched in metals and metalloids (e.g., arsenic, lead, and cadmium) and water uptake measurements of aqueous extracts of collected samples indicate that the particle diameter range of particles most enriched with these species (0.18−0.55 μm) overlaps with the most hygroscopic mode at a relative humidity of 90% (0.10−0.32 μm). These measurements have implications for public health, microphysical effects of aerosols, and regional impacts owing to the transport and deposition of contaminated aerosols.