A new look at inhalable metalliferous airborne particles on rail subway platforms

Moreno, Teresa, Martins, Vânia, Querol, Xavier, Jones, Tim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4466-1260, Berube, Kelly ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7471-7229, Minguillón, Maria Cruz, Amato, Fulvio, Capdevila, Marta, de Miguel, Eladio, Centelles, Sonia and Gibbons, Wes 2015. A new look at inhalable metalliferous airborne particles on rail subway platforms. Science of the Total Environment 505 , pp. 367-375. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.013

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (2MB)

Abstract

Most particles breathed on rail subway platforms are highly ferruginous (FePM) and extremely small (nanometric to a few microns in size). High magnification observations of particle texture and chemistry on airborne PM10 samples collected from the Barcelona Metro, combined with published experimental work on particle generation by frictional sliding, allow us to propose a general model to explain the origin of most subway FePM. Particle generation occurs by mechanical wear at the brake–wheel and wheel–rail interfaces, where magnetic metallic flakes and splinters are released and undergo progressive atmospheric oxidation from metallic iron to magnetite and maghemite. Flakes of magnetite typically comprise mottled mosaics of octahedral nanocrystals (10–20 nm) that become pseudomorphed by maghemite. Continued oxidation results in extensive alteration of the magnetic nanostructure to more rounded aggregates of non-magnetic hematite nanocrystals, with magnetic precursors (including iron metal) still preserved in some particle cores. Particles derived from steel wheel and rails contain a characteristic trace element chemistry, typically with Mn/Fe = 0.01. Flakes released from brakes are chemically very distinctive, depending on the pad composition, being always carbonaceous, commonly barium-rich, and texturally inhomogeneous, with trace elements present in nanominerals incorporated within the crystalline structure. In the studied subway lines of Barcelona at least there appears to be only a minimal aerosol contribution from high temperature processes such as sparking. To date there is no strong evidence that these chemically and texturally complex inhalable metallic materials are any more or less toxic than street-level urban particles, and as with outdoor air, the priority in subway air quality should be to reduce high mass concentrations of aerosol present in some stations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences Biosciences
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Subway PM; Platform air quality; SEM; TEM; Iron oxides; Nanoparticles
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0048-9697
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Date of Acceptance:	4 October 2014
Last Modified:	15 Dec 2023 07:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/73154

Citation Data

Cited 109 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item