Determination of Total Suspended Particulate Matter and Heavy Metals in Ambient Air of Four Cities of Pakistan

Total suspended particulates (TSPs) in ambient air of four cities of Pakistan were collected using a high volume sampling technique for subsequent heavy metal analysis. The sampling was conducted for 24 hours and the concentration of TSPs ranged 568-2074, 1191-3976, 1133-4400 and 112 280 μg/m3 for Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Bahwalnagar, respectively. The level of TSP contamination was very high in ambient air of two big industrial cities, Gujranwala and Faisalabad. TSPs were also analyzed for Cd, Pb and Zn using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) following digestion using a mixture of analytical grade nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Compared to other metals, concentration of Cd was slightly high (around 325 ng/m3) in the samples of Gujranwala and Faisalabad. Overall, the order of metal concentrations were Cd > Pb > Zn.