Source attribution and quantification of atmospheric nickel concentrations in an industrial area in the United Kingdom (UK)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Pontardawe in South Wales, United Kingdom (UK), consistently has the highest concentrations of nickel (Ni) in PM10 in the UK and repeatedly breaches the 20 ng m−3 annual mean EU target value. Several local industries use Ni in their processes. To assist policy makers and regulators in quantifying the relative Ni contributions of these industries and developing appropriate emission reduction approaches, the hourly concentrations of 23 elements were measured using X-ray fluorescence alongside meteorological variables and black carbon during a four-week campaign in November–December 2015. Concentrations of Ni ranged between 0 and 2480 ng m−3 as hourly means. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was used to identify sources contributing to measured elements. Cluster analysis of bivariate polar plots of those factors containing Ni in their profile was further used to quantify the industrial processes contributing to ambient PM10 concentrations. Two sources were identified to contribute to Ni concentrations, stainless-steel (which contributed to 10% of the Ni burden) and the Ni refinery (contributing 90%). From the stainless-steel process, melting activities were responsible for 66% of the stainless-steel factor contribution.
Date Issued
2022-01-15
Date Acceptance
2021-10-28
Citation
Environmental Pollution, 2022, 293, pp.1-10
ISSN
0269-7491
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
1
End Page
10
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Pollution
Volume
293
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121020145?via%3Dihub
Subjects
Cluster analysis
Nickel
Nickel refinery
Positive matrix factorization
Source apportionment
Stainless-steel production
Environmental Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
118432
Date Publish Online
2021-11-03