Transport of Trace Elements to Man by Atmospheric Aerosol

Abstract

Pollutants undergo complicated exchanges between the air, land and water media, following multiple pathways to a receptor (Figure 1). In considering the transport of material through the media, special attention is warranted for those pathways leading to man. One of the pathways which has received insufficient attention is via atmospheric aerosol. Bowen (1979) stated that, “They constitute a neglected, but sometimes important, source of elements for organisms and must be considered in any quantitative studiees of elemental cycling.” Some of the trace elements transported by aerosol are toxic; anthropogenic sources are contributing an important and increasing fraction of these elements (Nriagu and Pacyna, 1988).