Aerosol particle size distribution of atmospheric lead-210 in northern Finland.

Size-segregated aerosol samples were collected with a high-volume 6-stage cascade impactor at Sodankylä, Finland, 100 km north of the Arctic Circle. The Pb content of the samples were determined with radiochemical separation of in-grown Po followed by alpha spectrometry. Most of the Pb activity was incorporated in accumulation mode aerosol particles. The activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) ranged from 0.53 μm to 0.98 μm 38-61 per cent of Pb activity was found to be associated with aerosol particles smaller than 0.69 μm. A slight downward tendency of Pb activity median aerodynamic diameter was observed as a function of increasing Pb activity concentration. This is related to the continental origin of airborne Pb on one hand, and various aerosol particle growth processes on the other hand. Also a clear tendency towards a higher Be/Pb activity ratio as a function of increasing aerosol particle diameter was observed. This, in turn, reflects the different origin of Pb, exhalation of Rn from the soil into the air, and Be, formation by cosmic radiation in the upper troposphere and the stratosphere.