A Study on the Seasonal Mass Closure of Ambient Fine and Coarse Dusts in Zabrze, Poland Wioletta Rogula-Kozlowska • Krzysztof Klejnowski • Patrycja Rogula-Kopiec • Barbara Mathews • Sebastian Szopa Received: 12 October 2011 / Accepted: 19 January 2012 / Published online: 19 February 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Diurnal samples of PM 2.5 and PM 2.5–10 were taken in an urban background area in Zabrze (Upper Silesia in southern Poland) in the winter (January–March) and summer (July–September) of 2009. The samples were analyzed for carbon (organic and elemental), water soluble ions (Na ? , NH 4 ? ,K ? , Mg 2? , Ca 2? ,F - , Cl - , NO 3 - , PO 4 3- , SO 4 2- ) and concentrations of 27 elements by using, respectively, a Behr C50 IRF carbon analyzer, a Herisau Metrohm AG ion chromatograph, and a PANalitycal EPSILON 5 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. To perform the mass closure calculations for both dust fractions in the two periods, the particulate matter (PM) chemical com- ponents were categorized into organic matter, elemental carbon, secondary inorganic aerosol, crustal matter, marine components and unidentified matter. The chemical com- position of the two dust fractions and the element enrich- ment coefficients in the two seasons, referred to proper emission profiles, proved about 80% of PM 2.5 and more than 50% (in winter 65%) of PM 2.5–10 mass coming from anthropogenic sources, mainly from fuel combustion and specific municipal emission shaping the winter emission of ambient dust in the area. Keywords PM 2.5  PM 2.5–10  OC  EC  SIA  EF  Chemical mass closure  Municipal emission Ambient particulate matter (PM) combines constituents having whole variety of physicochemical properties (Chow 1995; Hinds 1998). The chemical composition of fine (PM 2.5 ) and coarse (PM 2.5–10 ) dusts and identification of their sources are the concern of many works (Perez et al. 2008; Viana et al. 2008; Pey et al. 2009; Putaud et al. 2010; Dabek-Zlotorzynska et al. 2011). In general, more attention is paid to PM 2.5 because of the health effects the inhaled fine dust exerts on humans (Englert 2004), nevertheless, in some areas, PM 2.5–10 appears equally important (Kim and Jo 2006; Amato et al. 2009). Data on PM 2.5 and PM 2.5–10 , on their concentrations and chemical composition, in Eastern Europe are not very abundant (EMEP 2009; Putaud et al. 2010). The data on the properties and chemical composition of PM in Poland are yet more incomplete (Houthuijs et al. 2001; Zwoz ´dziak et al. 2001; Pastuszka et al. 2003, 2010; Rogula-Kozlowska et al. 2008). The paper presents results of the chemical analyses of PM 2.5 and PM 2.5–10 in Zabrze, in summer and winter, and indicates the probable sources of both dust fractions. Materials and Methods The investigation took place in Zabrze, Upper Silesia (Fig. 1), the region of Poland where the recent two decades of economical changes forced the biggest drop in air pol- lution in Poland, and where ancient steel works, cokeries and coal mines, together with road traffic and combustion of fossil fuels for energy production still maintain high concentrations of ambient dust (Pastuszka et al. 2003, 2010; Rogula-Kozlowska et al. 2008). PM was sampled at an urban background sampling point (Directive 2008) with a two-channel Ruprecht & Patashnik Dichotomus Partisol W. Rogula-Kozlowska (&)  K. Klejnowski  P. Rogula-Kopiec  B. Mathews  S. Szopa Institute of Environmental Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 M. Sklodowska-Curie St., 41-819 Zabrze, Poland e-mail: wioletta@ipis.zabrze.pl 123 Bull Environ Contam Toxicol (2012) 88:722–729 DOI 10.1007/s00128-012-0533-y