Determining the particle size distribution and particle fractionation of particles in roadway runoff is important as they carry potent organic and inorganic pollutants. To date however, no standardised, accurate method exists for analysing the micron-sized particles.
In this HOT paper Masoud Kayhanian and Brandon Givens from the University of California have compared the ability of filter paper and sieving filtration methods to determine PSDs and concentrations, finding that the commonly used method (paper filtration) is anything but accurate.
Read their full assessment of the level of inaccuracy of paper filtration here – the article is free to access for 4 weeks:
Processing and analysis of roadway runoff micro (< 20 μm) particles
Masoud Kayhanian and Brandon Givens
J. Environ. Monit., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1EM10375J
