A recent study led by Randall Martin from Washington University in St. Louis aimed to analyze global ambient particulate matter (PM) to understand the components of mineral dust and trace element oxides, such as lead and arsenic. The research team, which included Jay Turner and Xuan Liu, examined data from the Surface PARTiculate mAtter Network (SPARTAN) to identify regions with elevated trace elements. Their findings, published in ES&T Air, revealed significant health risks associated with airborne trace elements, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. This underscores the importance of monitoring elemental composition of PM to mitigate exposure and protect public health.
While global air pollution from fine particulate matter has seen a decrease between 1998 and 2019, concerns remain regarding exposure to trace elements through inhalation of PM. The SPARTAN analysis pointed to informal lead-acid battery recycling, e-waste recycling, and coal-fired brick kilns as potential contributors to elevated concentrations of trace elements in urban areas, specifically in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Additionally, the team highlighted that concentrations of trace elements are notably high in low and middle-income countries due to unregulated urbanization and industrialization, underscoring the need for more thorough monitoring networks and reliable analyses to understand dust and trace element levels and their emission sources.
The study emphasizes the importance of sustained and consistent monitoring of elemental composition of fine particulate matter in urban areas worldwide to identify potential emission sources and inform targeted interventions to mitigate exposure. By improving estimations of dust and trace element concentrations, researchers can perform more accurate health risk assessments and investigate emission sources more effectively. SPARTAN sites have been selected or established as part of the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) satellite mission, dedicated to studying the health impacts of various airborne particles, which will provide a large dataset with increased sampling frequency for future research.
The research was supported by the Clean Air Fund, the National Science Foundation, NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development via the MAIA project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, and other funding sources. The team’s findings shed light on the significant health risks associated with elevated levels of trace elements in ambient PM, particularly in regions like South and Southeast Asia. As concentrations of trace elements are particularly high in low-income and middle-income countries due to unregulated urbanization and industrialization, uniform sampling methods and reliable analyses are needed to enable comparisons across the world and better understand the sources of pollution.
In conclusion, the study led by Martin and his team highlights the urgent need for continued efforts to monitor the elemental composition of fine particulate matter in urban areas globally, in order to effectively mitigate exposure to trace elements. By identifying potential sources of these harmful elements, targeted interventions can be implemented to safeguard public health. The collaboration with the MAIA satellite mission and the ongoing data collection efforts will lead to better estimations of dust and trace element concentrations, ultimately enabling more accurate health risk assessments and thorough investigations into emission sources.
