Lead isotope trends and sources in the atmosphere at an artificial wetland

With the rapid development of industry, studies on lead pollution in total suspended particulate matter (TSP) have received extensive attention. This paper analyzed the concentration and pollution sources of lead in the Cuihu Wetland in Beijing during the period of 2016–2017. The results show that the lead contents in TSP in the Cuihu Wetland were approximately equal in summer and spring, greater in winter, and greatest in autumn. The corresponding lead concentrations were 0.052 ng/m³, 0.053 ng/m³, 0.101 ng/m³, and 0.115 ng/m³, respectively. We compared the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb data with other materials to further understand the potential sources of atmospheric lead. The mean values of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb from spring to winter were 1.082, 1.098, 1.092, and 1.078, respectively. We found that the lead sources may be associated with coal burning, brake and tire wear, and vehicle exhaust emissions. We also calculated the enrichment factor values for the four seasons, and the values were all much greater than 10, indicating that the lead pollution is closely related to human activities.