THE DISTRIBUTION OF TUNGSTEN IN JELGAVA CITY AT 2022 AND 2023

Abstract

Every year, cities are becoming more populated and urban traffic more intense. Urban air quality is deteriorating and causes for pollution are being sought and solutions to improve the quality of life in urban areas. Atmospheric deposits, vehicles, traffic and de-icing products are the main sources of snow pollution in cities. Snow, located near roads and streets with intense traffic, is a very useful tool for identifying the risks of traffic-related metals in the environment. In many countries, in winter, they use tires with studs made of tungsten-based material. The tires wear out to fine particles that disperse in the environment, particularly in the vicinity of roads and streets. In the environment, tungsten can also come from the incineration of waste and industry. Due to low concentrations of tungsten in the natural environment, this can be a potentially good identifier for traffic and other anthropogenic contamination. The aim of the study is to identify the risk of spreading tungsten in different areas in Jelgava. This study studied the harvested snow in 2022 and 2023. Snow was harvested at 59 monitoring points 5 m from the road or street section in Jelgava, Latvia. Tungsten concentrations were determined by ICP-MS. The average concentration of tungsten was 0.154 �g/L in 2022 and 0.342 �g/L in 2023. Five groups of tungsten distribution from low pollution risk to high pollution risk were divided using the hierarchical clustering method. The spatial distribution of divided risk groups in urban areas highlights the impact of the transport corridor and private buildings on the urban distribution of tungsten.