Concentration and Emission Sources of Airborne Metals in Particulate Matter in the Industrial District of MØdio Paraíba, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Josiane Loyola, 1 Pierre Batista de Almeida Jr., 1 Simone Lorena Quiterio, 1 CØlia Regina Sousa, 1 Graciela Arbilla, 1 Viviane Escaleira, 2 Maria Isabel de Carvalho, 3 Alzira dos Santos Amaral Gomes da Silva 3 1 Physical Chemistry Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, Building A, Room 408. 21949-900, Cidade Universitµria, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 2 National Center of Soil Research. EMBRAPA, Jardim Botânico Street, 1024. 22460-000, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 3 State Foundation of Environmental Engineering. FEEMA, Nossa Senhora de Copacabana Avenue, 493. 22020-000, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Received: 25 December 2005 /Accepted: 28 April 2006 Abstract. Total suspended particles and 12 airborne metals were determined in 4 sampling sites in the industrial region of MØdio Paraíba, Brazil. The geometrical means for the four sampling locals were (in units of lg/m 3 ): 65.9 in Barra Mansa, 57.3 in Jardim Paraíba (Volta Redonda), 41.7 in Resende, and 48.9 in Volta Grande (Volta Redonda). These values are lower than levels previously determined in urban and industrial locals of the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro. For metals, the higher concentrations were obtained for Ca, Zn, Al, Fe, and Mg. Ca, Zn, and Al levels are higher than those determined in other industrial areas. These three metals are used in steel manufac- turing, the main economical activity of the region. Enrichment factors for Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb are higher than 10, suggesting an industrial input. Statistical analysis show a high correlation among Ca, Mg, Zn, Cr, Al, Mn, and Fe, all of them used as raw materials in steel manufacturing and/or accumulated as indus- trial blast furnace slag and steelworks slag. In the last 50 years, urbanization and industrialization have brought a multitude of problems, including air pollution. More than 75% of all people in developed nations now live in cities (Baldasano et al. 2003). In developing countries, urbanization has been faster, with twice as many people living in urban areas compared to 50 years ago. In Brazil, 75% of people live in urban areas, and in the State of Rio de Janeiro this number rises to 95% (IBGE 2000). In this State, as well as in many other regions, the main air pollution problem is the high level of particulate matter and associated compounds (metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). The State of Rio de Janeiro has an area of 43,909 km 2 and a population of 14,391,282 inhabitants. From an economical point of view, it has three important regions: the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (RJMA), with an area of 6500 km 2 , which accounts for 76% of the total population and 80% of the production; the Region of MØdio Paraíba, which accounts for 5.45% of the population, and the north region, Campos, which represents 4.5% of the population of the State. These three regions are also the more critical areas regarding air quality (FEEMA 2004). Several works has been published in recent years assessing the problem of metal concentrations in airborne particulate matter in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (Quiterio et al. 2004a, 2004b, 2005). On the other hand, for the Region of MØdio Paraíba, the only available data are concentrations for criteria pollutants obtained by the monitoring of automatic stations. Presently, air quality monitoring is accomplished by three automatic stations installed and operated by the CSN (Companhia Siderurgica Nacional) (CSN 2005) in Volta Redonda and three stations operated by FEEMA (Fundażo Estadual de Engenharia e Meio Ambiente) (FEEMA 2005a) in Barra Mansa (one for total suspended particulate [TSP] and two for particulate matter with diameter less than 10lm (PM 10 )). TSP matter is also monitored by FEEMA using manual stations and by CSN using four semiautomatic sta- tions in Volta Redonda (TSP and PM 10 ). The region has a history of high levels of particulate matter, in comparison to the national primary and secondary standards, 80 and 60 lg/ m 3 , respectively (CONAMA 1990). The annual mean TSP concentrations in Volta Redonda were 102, 223, 168, and 245 lg/m 3 for the years 1980, 1985, 1989, and 1995, respectively (FEEMA 2005b). In 1994, the CSN was com- mitted to control the substantial environmental impact caused by steel-making, in accordance with international standards and compliance with environmental laws and regulations in Brazil. In 1996 and 1997, the mean annual concentrations were reduced to 95 and 91 lg/m 3 , respectively. For 2002, this value was 83 lg/m 3 , slightly over the primary standards, with a peak of 242 lg/m 3 . In 2001, the company installed automatic monitoring stations. In this work, total particulate matter and trace metal con- centrations in the region of MØdio Paraíba were determined in Correspondence to: Graciela Arbilla; email: graciela@iq.ufrj.br Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 51, 485–493 (2006) DOI: 10.1007/s00244-005-0313-3