Short communicationAccumulation and fractionation of rare earth elements in atmospheric particulates around a mine tailing in Baotou, China

Rare earth elements (REEs) have been increasingly emitted into the atmosphere with a worldwide increase in use of these metals. However, the research on REEs in atmospheric particulates is fairly limited. In this paper, atmospheric particulates including total suspended particulate (TSP) matter and particles with an equivalent aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) were collected around a rare earth mine tailing in Baotou, the largest rare earth industrial base in China, in August 2012 and March 2013, for the analyses of REE levels and distributions. The total concentrations of REEs for TSP were 172.91 and 297.49 ng/m3, and those for PM10 were 63.23 and 105.52 ng/m3, in August 2012 and March 2013, respectively. Enrichment factors for all 14 analyzed REEs in the TSP and PM10 indicated that the REE enrichment in atmosphere particulates was caused by anthropogenic sources and influenced by the strong wind in spring season. The spatial distribution of REEs in TSP showed a strong gradient in the prevailing wind direction. The chondrite-normalized patterns of REEs in TSP and PM10 were similar with the conspicuous fractionation between light REEs and heavy REEs.