• Vânia Martins, Teresa Moreno, María Cruz Minguillón, Barend L van Drooge, Cristina Reche, Fulvio Amato, Eladio de Miguel, Marta Capdevila, Sonia Centelles, and Xavier Querol.
• Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), CSIC, C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: vania.ferreira@idaea.csic.es.
• Environ. Pollut. 2016 Jan 1; 208 (Pt A): 125-136.

AbstractThe present work assesses indoor air quality in stations of the Barcelona subway system. PM2.5 concentrations on the platforms of 4 subway stations were measured during two different seasons and the chemical composition was determined. A Positive Matrix Factorization analysis was performed to identify and quantify the contributions of major PM2.5 sources in the subway stations. Mean PM2.5 concentrations varied according to the stations design and seasonal periods. PM2.5 was composed of haematite, carbonaceous aerosol, crustal matter, secondary inorganic compounds, trace elements, insoluble sulphate and halite. Organic compounds such as PAHs, nicotine, levoglucosan and aromatic musk compounds were also identified. Subway PM2.5 source comprised emissions from rails, wheels, catenaries, brake pads and pantographs. The subway source showed different chemical profiles for each station, but was always dominated by Fe. Control actions on the source are important for the achievement of better air quality in the subway environment. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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