Evolution of Particulate Matter and Associated Metal Levels in the Urban Area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil S. A. Paulino • S. L. Quiterio • V. Escaleira • G. Arbilla Received: 21 May 2009 / Accepted: 18 December 2009 / Published online: 30 December 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract The levels of total suspended particles and airborne particulate trace metals were determined in three locations. Two of these locations are in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, where the main source of pollution is vehicular traffic. The remaining location is in a suburban area characterized by industrial and vehicular emissions, as well as natural input. Enrichment factors found in the downtown area for Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd were in the interval 21-3237, indicating an important contribution of anthro- pogenic sources. In the suburban area, Zn levels were unusually high (596.8–5475.4 ng m -3 ) and may be attrib- uted to the proximity of a company that produces lubricants and lubricant additives. Keywords Airborne particulate matter Á Trace metals Á Industrial sources Á Vehicular emissions Non-attainment of total suspended particulate matter (TSP) national air quality standards (CONAMA 1990) is a frequent problem encountered in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area (RJMA), mainly in the Basin III region, which includes Baixada Fluminense and the northern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Previous results obtained in seven districts of Baixada Fluminense (Quiterio et al. 2005), including Belford Roxo, during the period of 2002–2003 showed TSP geometric means between 55.4 ± 15.9 and 241.5 ± 40.0 lgm -3 . Enrichment fac- tors (EF) showed that Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb were present due to anthropogenic emissions. Zn, Cu and Cd levels were high compared to other urban and industrial areas. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cu and Cd were 1–88, 3–61 and 3–130 times higher, respectively, than the reported values for other industrial areas. Data obtained downtown in 2001–2002 (Quiterio et al. 2004a) showed a TSP geometric mean of 133 ± 48 lgm -3 . The EF values for Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn suggest anthropogenic inputs of these metals, while the other main contributions are natural sources. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of total suspended particles (TSP) and airborne particulate trace metals in three locations, Belford Roxo, Maracana ˜ and Sa ˜o Cristo ´va ˜o, in order to assess the evolution of air quality in Basin III. Materials and Methods The RJMA and Basin III areas are shown in Fig. 1. RJMA is a region of approximately 5,645 km 2 formed by 20 districts. Basin III accounts for 8% of the total area. Because Basin III is the most worrisome area of the RJMA in terms of air quality and its health impact, a new study in collaboration with the local environmental protection agency (INEA) has been developed in this region. Baixada Fluminense is a suburban region characterized by urban and industrial sources of pollution, as well as an important contribution S. A. Paulino Á G. Arbilla (&) Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT, Building A, Room 408, Cidade Universita ´ria, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21949-900, Brazil e-mail: graciela@iq.ufrj.br S. L. Quiterio Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro, Senador Furtado Street, 121, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20270-021, Brazil V. Escaleira National Center of Soil Research, EMBRAPA, Jardim Bota ˆnico Street, 1024, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22460-000, Brazil 123 Bull Environ Contam Toxicol (2010) 84:315–318 DOI 10.1007/s00128-009-9931-1