Study of road dust pollution using ICP mass spectrometry

Nowadays, there are many studies focused on road dust as a matrix of interest because of its ability to accumulate contamination with contribution from road traffic. This master thesis is turned into study of road dust pollution from aglomeration of Ulaanbaatar, capital city of Mongolia. There are 113 samples devided on nine sets corresponding to major roads in Ulaanbaatar. Samples have been sieved on three size fractions and then decomposed by aqua regia. Middle size fraction 45–63 µm has been analyzed using ICP-MS mass spektrometry. For purposes of contamination assesment, analyzed elements have been devided into two groups: contaminants (Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb and As) and rare earth elements (REE). Measured contents for elements have been compared with values of geochemical backgroud. Firstly for each set of samples and secondly for each sampling point. For first group of elements (contaminants), antropogenic contamination have been found, especially in the centre of Ulaanbaatar. As a probable source of this contamination, road traffic for Cu, Zn and Pb and coal combustion for Pb a As, have been identified. For REE group hasn´t been found any antropogenic enrichment