Long-term assessment of ecological risk from deposition of elemental pollutants in the vicinity of the industrial area of Puchuncaví-Ventanas, central Chile.

Unlabelled: The present work investigates soil pollution by elemental contaminants and compares ecological risk indexes related to industrial activities for the case study of Puchuncaví-Ventanas: a relevant industrial zone located in central Chile. Selected elements (As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Hg, V, Mn, Zn, Sr, Sb, Cr, Co, Cu, K, and Ba) were analyzed during a long-term period (yearly sampling campaigns during 2007-2011), at 5 sampling stations representing different degrees of impact. PCA and cluster analysis allowed identifying a copper smelter and a coal-fired power plant complex as major pollution sources.

Ambient air levels and health risk assessment of benzo(a)pyrene in atmospheric particulate matter samples from low-polluted areas: application of an optimized microwave extraction and HPLC-FL methodology.

A new methodology involving a simple and fast pretreatment of the samples by microwave-assisted extraction and concentration by N2 stream, followed by HPLC with fluorescence detection, was used for determining the concentration of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in atmospheric particulate matter (PM10 fraction). Obtained LOD, 1.0 × 10(-3) ng/m(3), was adequate for the analysis of benzo(a)pyrene in the samples, and BaP recovery from PAH in Fine Dust (PM10-like) certified reference material was nearly quantitative (86%).