Characteristics of Heavy Metals in Wet Deposition at Mt. Tai, China

130 wet deposition events were observed at the summit of Mt. Tai (East China, 1534 a.s.l) in China during Jan. 2005 to Dec. 2008. Zn, Al, Mn, Fe, Pb, Cu, Ni, Cr, As, and Cd were determined by ICP-MS to evaluate the characteristics of heavy metals in wet deposition at Mt. Tai region. The concentrations of these metals are generally higher at Mt. Tai than the concentrations observed at other monitoring sites around the world. Element Zn is the most abundant heavy metal through entire observation period, accounting for 46% of the total metals concentrations in rainwater, with volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentrations of 90.60 μg/l. Among the relatively more concerned elements which are toxic at very low amount (i.e., As, Pb, Ni, Cd, Cr), the primary is Pb, with VWM concentrations of 6.48 μg/l. Highest concentrations of heavy metals are observed in Nov. and lowest in Feb. Based on the correlation analysis, elements As, Mn and Cd are strongly related; moderate correlations are found between elements Al and Fe, Cu and Zn. indicating similar sources of these elements.