1989 Volume 24 Issue 1 Pages 45-51
Coal, coal ash and airborne particulate matter were analyzed for tellurium by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after coprecipitation with arsenic. The use of tellurium as a tracer of coal combustion effluent was investigated in the comparison of behaviors and concentration levels of selenium in the atmospheric samples. Enrichment factors of tellurium in these samples against earth's crust or soil composition normalized by aluminium, the size distribution of tellurium bearing particles in the atmosphere and the molar ratio of selenium and tellurium showed a possibility of the use of tellurium as a tracer of coal combustion effluent. This hypothesis was also supported by the fact that tellurium was not determined in oils but in coals. This idea was tested by field experiments in Seoul, Korea where much coal is consumed particularly in winter season, and Yokohama, Japan where is of low level of coal consumption throughout year. The result of observation of tellurium concentration in the atmosphere at both sites showed a probable correlationship between concentrations of tellurium and coal consumption; a clear peak in both tellurium concentration and coal consumption in winter time in Seoul, whereas no characteristic patterns in Yokohama.
