Lead isotope geochemistry of the urban environment in the Pearl River Delta

The study of the Pb isotopic and elemental composition of eolian dusts, aerosols and soils collected from urban areas in the Pearl River Delta, China, indicates that the atmospheric Pb pollution originates from automobile exhausts and industry. The Pb isotopes allow distinguishing between Pb from the natural background, automobile exhausts, and industrial pollution. The Pb isotopes show that the air-carried Pb pollution in Guangzhou and Foshan is a mixture of industrial Pb from the Fankou Pb-Zn giant deposit and automobile exhaust, whereas the pollution in Foshan is mainly from industry. The chemical compositions show that aerosols possess features of volcanic ash, and eolian dusts are mixtures of aluminosilicates-sulfides.