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The majority of the Spanish urban population breathe air containing inhalable ambient airborne particles at average concentrations of 30-46 μg m-3 (PM10) and 20-30 μg m-3 (PM2.5). Even though the average weight of inhaled urban aerosol is commonly similar, however, there can be large chemical differences between the ambient dusts from different towns, including the more bioreactive elements such as some metals. In this context, we compare the source-apportioned trace metal content of airborne PM10 and PM2.5 collected daily over a 1-year period from six population centres in Spain: Barcelona, Alcobendas, Llodio, Huelva, Tarragona and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Total average trace metal (ΣTM) PM10 and PM2.5 contents vary by up to a factor of around 3, reaching a maximum of ΣTM10 811 ng m-3 and ΣTM2.5 503 ng m-3 at Llodio, an industrial but humid site with the lowest PM10 mass levels but high contamination by Zn, Pb, Mn, Sn, Ni and Cr. In contrast, pollution at Huelva, although another industrially influenced site, instead emphasises Cu and As, whereas Barcelona, where traffic emissions and resuspension contribute to some of the highest average PM10 levels in Spain, has unusually raised levels of Ti, V and Ba. Such variations in both daily and annual average PM bulk chemistry, particularly in potentially toxic trace metals concentrated in the finer aerosols (such as Cd, As, Pb, Hg and Ni), predict that PM health effects on resident populations from different towns are unlikely to be the same. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ; This study was supported by research projects from the D.G. de Calidad y Evaluación Ambiental from the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the Plan Nacional de I+D from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CGL2004-05984_C07-02/CLI, REN2001-0659-C03-03). The authors also thank the Departments of Environment of the Autonomous Governments of Catalunya, Madrid, Andalucia, Canarias and Euskadi for their support and collaboration. ; Peer reviewed

The emission of trace metal pollutants by industry and transport takes place on a scale large enough to alter atmospheric chemistry and results in measurable differences between the urban background of inhalable particulate matter (PM) in different towns. This is particularly well demonstrated by the technogenic release into the atmosphere of V, Ni, and lanthanoid elements. We compare PM concentrations of these metals in large datasets from five industrial towns in Spain variously influenced by emissions from refinery, power station, shipping, stainless steel, ceramic tiles and brick-making. Increased La/Ce values in urban background inhalable PM, due to La-contamination from refineries and their residual products (fuel oils and petcoke), contrast with Ce-rich emissions from the ceramic related industry, and clearly demonstrate the value of this ratio as a sensitive and reliable tracer for many point source emissions. Similarly, anomalously high V/Ni values (>4) can detect the influence of nearby high-V petcoke and fuel oil combustion, although the use of this ratio in urban background PM is limited by overlapping values in natural and anthropogenic materials. Geochemical characterisation of urban background PM is a valuable compliment to the physical monitoring of aerosols widely employed in urban areas, especially given the relevance of trace metal inhalation to urban health issues. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. ; This study was supported by research projects from the D.G. de Calidad y Evaluación Ambiental from the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the Plan Nacional de I+D from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science ( CGL2005-03428-C04-03/CLI , CGL2007-62505/CLI and GRACCIECSD2007-00067 , and research contracts supported by the Autonomous governments of Valencia and Andalucía . The authors also thank the Departments of Environment of the Autonomous Governments of Andalucía, Valencia, CIAI and Castilla La Mancha. ; Peer reviewed