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Seasonal Variation of Trace Metals in Wet and Dry Deposition at a Single Site in Houston, TX

Graduate #42
Discipline: Ecology Environmental and Earth Sciences
Subcategory: Air
Session: 2
Room: Park Tower 8206

Allen L. White - Texas Southern University
Co-Author(s): Hyun-Min Hwang, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX



Trace metals are released from various industrial, commercial, and urban sources. These metals maintain an inability to degrade and thus they accumulate in the soil, water, and the human body which can lead to adverse health effects. In this study, we evaluated the average daily exposure of trace metals over a 12-month period to depict the trace metal content in dust by deposited via precipitation and gravimetric means; in addition we assess the relationships trace metals share with each other under meteorological conditions.
The main objective of this study is to determine seasonal variations in exposure to select air pollutants, which was addressed by collecting wet and dry deposition from a single site in Houston, Texas. Samples were analyzed for As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, and Zn using the inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the metal content of collected atmospheric deposition. After conducting a series of literature reviews we developed a series of techniques for monitoring trace metal contributions.
Preliminary results display several metals that exceed the lowest observable adverse health effect levels which have led to reason for further investigation of air pollution sources in urban areas. We expect this study to show variations in the composition of outdoor air and the relationship that precipitation rates has with atmospheric deposition in the Houston area.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation Research Infrastructure in Science & Engineering

Faculty Advisor: Hyun-Min Hwang, Hyun-Min.Hwang@tsu.edu

Role: I an the sole contributor to this research.

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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