A high degree of attention has been focused on detection of platinum group metals in last
few years. These metals are emitted by vehicle exhaust catalysts and their concentrations
have been increases rapidly in various compartments of environment i.e. airborne
particulate matter, roadside soils, vegetation and oceanic environments.
The main source of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) contamination of environment
comes from the emission of automobile exhaust catalysts. High amounts of platinum
group elements (PGEs) have been applied to reduce the somber effects of emissions i.e.
carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen. The demand for
these elements has also increased because of these automobile catalytic converter
systems. This catalytic converter system is consists of Rhodium (Rh), Platinum (Pt) and
Palladium (Pd) and play a vital role in our environment to reduce the emissions.
Reduction of harmful emissions also increases the concentration of platinum group
elements (PGEs) into environment.
This study is an attempt to determine the importance of concentration, distributions and
accumulation of platinum group elements (PGEs).For this purpose sample data has been
collected from different areas of Lahore city and fully examined. Spark Source Mass
Spectrometry technique was used. The concentrations of Rh, Ru, Pd, Os and Ir were
1.32µg/m3
, 3.501µg/m3
, 10.49µg/m3
, 6.998µg/m3
and 18.100µg/m3
respectively. Pt was
not detected due to low detecting limits. It was thought that the emitted PGEs remain in
roadside environment. But according to the recently collected and observed data, it is
studied that these elements are able to transport and distribute at regional and log-range
levels. Therefore, it is recommended that the proper monitoring of platinum group
elements (PGEs) is very important to take up the matter of potential risks to human
health.