Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Survey of the Distribution and Time-Dependent Increase of Platinum-Group Element Accumulation Along Urban Roads in Ioannina (NW Greece)

  • Published:
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The emission of platinum group elements (PGEs) from automobile catalytic converters has led to rapid increases in Pt, Pd, and Rh concentrations in roadside media. This article represents the first systematic study in Greece to assess PGE levels in road dust and roadside soil and their temporal variation on a seasonal basis over a 12-month period. Road dust and roadside soil samples were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry following microwave digestion. Concentrations of PGE in all samples were above the average upper crust values and local background levels, with maximum values of 306.4 ng/g Pt, 18.2 ng/g Pd, and 64.6 ng/g Rh in road dust and 225 ng/g Pt, 14.0 ng/g Pd, and 49.5 ng/g Rh in roadside soil. PGE ratios were not consistent with known catalytic converter composition throughout the sampling period reflecting the high emission of Rh from new catalytic converters. Spatial variations were influenced by various factors like driving style, matrix composition, diurnal change in traffic volume, and climatic conditions. With regard to seasonal variations, systematic changes in the temporal distribution of PGE levels were observed and followed a similar pattern between the two matrices. Except PGEs, Pb levels were determined, since it has been a typical indicator of vehicle-derived environmental lead pollution. The data indicate that despite the use of unleaded gasoline, traffic-related sources of Pb that induce levels above the local background have not been eliminated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Artelt, S., Levsen, K., Konig, H., & Rosner, G. (2000). In F. Zereini, & F. Alt (Eds.), Anthropogenic platinum-group element emissions pp. 33–44. Berlin, Germany: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barefoot, R. R. (1999). Distribution and speciation of platinum group elements in environmental matrices. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 18, 702–707. doi:10.1016/S0165-9936(99)00173-9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bocca, B., Alimonti, A., Cristaudo, A., Cristallini, E., Petrucci, F., & Caroli, S. (2004). Monitoring of the exposure to platinum-group elements for two Italian population groups through urine analysis. Analytica Chimica Acta, 512, 19–25. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2004.02.032.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchella, D., De Vivo, B., & Lima, A. (2003). Palladium and platinum concentration in soils from the Napoli metropolitan area, Italy: possible effects of catalytic exhausts. The Science of the Total Environment, 308, 121–131. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00632-0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cinti, D., Angelone, M., Masi, U., & Cremisini, C. (2002). Platinum levels in natural and urban soils from Rome and Latium (Italy): significance for pollution by automobile catalytic converter. The Science of the Total Environment, 293, 47–57. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(01)01137-8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Djingova, R., Kovacheva, P., Wagner, G., & Markert, B. (2003). Distribution of platinum group elements and other traffic related elements among different plants along some highways in Germany. The Science of the Total Environment, 308, 235–246. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00677-0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ely, J. C., & Neal, C. R. (2002). Method of data reduction and uncertainty estimation for platinum-group element data using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Geostandards Newsletter the Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalysis, 26, 31–39. doi:10.1111/j.1751-908X.2002.tb00621.x.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ely, J. C., Neal, C. R., Kulpa, C. F., Schneegurt, M. A., Seidler, J. A., & Jain, J. C. (2001). Implications of platinum-group element accumulation along U.S. roads from catalytic-converter attrition. Environmental Science & Technology, 35, 3816–3822. doi:10.1021/es001989s.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farago, M. E., Kavanagh, P., Blanks, R., Kelly, J., Kazantzis, G., Thornton, I., et al. (1996). Platinum metal concentrations in urban road dust and soil in the United Kingdom. Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 354, 660–663.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farago, M. E., Kavanagh, P., Blanks, R., Kelly, J., Kazantzis, G., Thornton, I., et al. (1998). Platinum concentrations in urban road dust and soil, and in blood and urine in the United Kingdom. Analyst (London), 123, 451–454. doi:10.1039/a705920e.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fritsche, J., & Meisel, T. (2004). Determination of anthropogenic input of Ru, Rh, Pd, Re, Os, Ir and Pt in soils along Austrian motorways by isotope dilution ICPMS. The Science of the Total Environment, 325, 145–154. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2003.11.019.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez, B., Gomez, M., Sanchez, J. L., Fernandez, R., & Palacios, M. A. (2001). Platinum and rhodium distribution in airborne particulate matter and road dust. The Science of the Total Environment, 269, 131–144. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(00)00826-3.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez, B., Palacios, M. A., Gomez, M., Sanchez, J. L., Morrison, G., Rauch, S., et al. (2002). Levels and risk assessment for humans and ecosystems of platinum-group elements in the airborne particles and road dust of some European cities. The Science of the Total Environment, 299, 1–16. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00038-4.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, N. N., & Earnshaw, A. (1989). Chemistry of the elements. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartley, R. (1991). Chemistry of the platinum group metals. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hees, T., Wenclawiak, B., Lustig, S., Schramel, P., Schwarzer, M., Schuster, M., et al. (1998). Distribution of platinum group elements (Pt, Pd, Rh) in environmental and clinical matrices: comparison, analytical techniques and scientific outlook. ESPR-Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 5, 105–111. doi:10.1007/BF02986396.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helmers, E., & Mergel, N. (1998). Platinum and rhodium in a polluted environment: Studying the emissions of automobile catalysts with emphasis on the application of CSV rhodium analysis. Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 362, 522–528. doi:10.1007/s002160051118.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, K. E., Parry, S. J., & Piper, J. M. (2001). Temporal and spatial studies of autocatalyst-derived platinum, rhodium, and palladium and selected vehicle-derived trace elements in the environment. Environmental Science & Technology, 35, 1031–1036. doi:10.1021/es0001512.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lesniewska, B. A., Godlewska-Zylkiewicz, B., Bocca, B., Caimi, S., Caroli, S., & Hulanicki, A. (2004). Platinum, palladium and rhodium content in road dust, tunnel dust and common grass in Bialystok area (Poland): a pilot study. The Science of the Total Environment, 321, 93–104. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2003.07.004.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moldovan, M., Gomez, M. M., & Palacios, M. A. (1999). Determination of platinum, rhodium and palladium in car exhaust fumes. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 14, 1163–1169. doi:10.1039/a901516g.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moldovan, M., Palacios, M. A., Gomez, M. M., Morrison, G., Rauch, S., McLeod, C., et al. (2002). Environmental risk of particulate and soluble platinum group elements released from gasoline and diesel engine catalytic converters. The Science of the Total Environment, 296, 199–208. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00087-6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morcelli, C. P. R., Figueiredo, A. M. G., Sarkis, J. E. S., Enzweiler, J., Kakazu, M., & Sigolo, J. B. (2005). PGEs and other traffic-related elements in roadside soils from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Science of the Total Environment, 345, 81–91. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.10.018.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, O., Puchelt, H., Hernandez, E., & Lounejeva, E. (2001). Traffic-related platinum group elements (PGE) in soils from Mexico City. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 72, 223–227. doi:10.1016/S0375-6742(01)00163-7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • National Statistical Service of Greece (2001). Census of population. (www.statistics.gr)

  • Palacios, M. A., Gomez, M. M., Moldovan, M., Morrison, G., Rauch, S., McLeod, C., et al. (2000). Platinum-group elements: quantification in collected exhaust fumes and studies of catalyst surfaces. The Science of the Total Environment, 257, 1–17. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(00)00464-2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petrucci, F., Bocca, B., Alimonti, A., & Caroli, S. (2000). Determination of Pd, Pt and Rh in airborne particulate and road dust by high-resolution ICP-MS: a preliminary investigation of the emission from automotive catalysts in the urban area of Rome. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 15, 525–528. doi:10.1039/a909792i.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riga-Karandinos, A. N., Saitanis, C. J., & Arapis, G. (2006). First study of anthropogenic platinum group elements in roadside top-soils in Athens, Greece. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 172, 3–20. doi:10.1007/s11270-005-9016-7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudnick, R. L., & Fountain, D. M. (1995). Nature and Composition of the Continental Crust: A Lower Crustal Perspective. Reviews of Geophysics, 33, 267–309. doi:10.1029/95RG01302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J., & Puchelt, H. (1998). Platinum-Group-Metals (PGM) emitted from automobile catalytic converters and their distribution in roadside soils. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 64, 307–314. doi:10.1016/S0375-6742(98)00040-5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J., Hannker, D., Eckhardtm, J. D., & Stueben, D. (1998). Uptake of traffic-related heavy metals and platinum group elements (PGE) by plants. The Science of the Total Environment, 215, 59–67. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00115-6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J., Echardt, J., Berner, Z. A., & Stueben, D. (1999). Time-dependent increase of traffic-emitted platinum group elements (PGE) in different environmental compartments. Environmental Science & Technology, 33, 3166–3170. doi:10.1021/es990033i.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, R. A. (2007). Platinum-group element concentrations in BCR-723: A quantitative review of published analyses. Analytica Chimica Acta, 582, 201–207. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2006.09.030.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S., & McLennan, S. (1995). The Geochemical Evolution of the Continental Crust. Reviews of Geophysics, 33, 241–265. doi:10.1029/95RG00262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsogas, G. Z., Giokas, D. L., Vlessidis, A. G., & Evmiridis, N. P. (2008). On the re-assessment of the optimum conditions for the determination of platinum, palladium and rhodium in environmental samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and microwave digestion. Talanta, 76, 635–641. doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2008.04.007.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wedepohl, K. H. (1995). The Composition of earth crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 1217–1232 and references included therein doi:10.1016/0016-7037(95)00038-2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteley, J. D. (2005). Seasonal variability of platinum, palladium and rhodium (pge) levels in road dusts and roadside soils, Perth, Western Australia. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 160, 77–93. doi:10.1007/s11270-005-3861-2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteley, J. D., & Murray, F. (2003). Anthropogenic platinum group element (Pt, Pd and Rh) concentrations in road dusts and roadside soils from Perth, Western Australia. The Science of the Total Environment, 317, 121–135. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00359-0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, C. S. C., Li, X., & Thornton, I. (2006). Urban environmental geochemistry of trace metals. Environmental Pollution, 142, 1–16. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2005.09.004.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, S. A. (1990). The interaction of dissolved platinum with fulvic acid and simple organic acid analogues in aqueous solutions. Canadian Mineralogist, 28, 665–673.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zereini, F., Dirksen, F., Skerstupp, B., & Urban, H. (1998). Sources of anthropogenic platinum-group elements (PGE): automotive catalyst versus PGE processing industries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 5, 223–230. doi:10.1007/BF02986405.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the program “Pythagoras I” of the “Operational Program for Education and Initial Vocational Training” of the 3rd Community Support Framework of the Hellenic Ministry of Education, funded by 25% from national sources and by 75% from the European Social Fund (ESF).

The authors would like to extend their gratitude to Mr. Konstantinos Gogos from the Administration of Transport (Ioannina, Greece) for providing information related to the number of automobiles in the Ioannina district.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45100, Ioannina, Greece

    George Z. Tsogas, Dimosthenis L. Giokas & Athanasios G. Vlessidis

  2. Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100, Mytilene, Greece

    Maria Aloupi & Michael O. Angelidis

Authors
  1. George Z. Tsogas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dimosthenis L. Giokas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Athanasios G. Vlessidis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maria Aloupi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Michael O. Angelidis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dimosthenis L. Giokas.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tsogas, G.Z., Giokas, D.L., Vlessidis, A.G. et al. Survey of the Distribution and Time-Dependent Increase of Platinum-Group Element Accumulation Along Urban Roads in Ioannina (NW Greece). Water Air Soil Pollut 201, 265–281 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9943-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9943-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation