• Ravichandra Kammula
• Srinivasa Rao Goddu
• Prasada Rao P.V.V
• Nathani Basavaiah

Magnetic analysis is done on 76 suspended particulate dust samples to detect hazardous levels in Visakhapatnam city (also known as Vizag) and distinguish between the areas affected by traffic and industrial pollution. A new method of sampling (Textile sampling method) is used to collect the suspended particles (SP). The correlation coefficient between weight of the SP obtained from textile method and classical High Volume Sampler (HVS) is found to be R=0.99. The variations of magnetic susceptibility (k) distinguish pollution source within the city and is mainly controlled by the local pollution effect. The percentage frequency dependence susceptibility (fd%) values range between 3 and 9%indicating high ultrafine percentage of magnetic grains in the Particulate Matter (PM) at various sampling sites. Higher fd% values are found at heavy traffic areas pointing out that vehicular emissions contain a higher percentage of ultrafine superparamagnetic (SP) grains than the SP in industrial zones. Magnetic mineralogy of the suspended dust is dominated by a magnetite-like phase. Hysteresis parameters measured for some samples are typical for pseudo-single domain magnetite. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis on few selected samples indicates very high concentrations of heavy metals Mn, Zn, Pb, Cr and Cu which are far beyond the permissible limit. The correlation of fd% with Cr and Ni is well expressed at a significance level of P=0.05 in our results. Also the correlation of magnetic susceptibility  with Cr, Mn and Ni is good indicating that the magnetic parameters respond to spatial distribution of heavy metals. The variation of fd% is interpreted as the relative degree of human health hazardous zones.

Cloth samplers, environmental magnetic properties, suspended particulate matter, air pollution, heavy metals.

"Environmental magnetic and geochemical characterization of atmospheric particulate dust in Visakhapatnam city, India: A new technique of textile monitoring of pollution", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.4, Issue 11, page no.649-658, November-2017, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1711111.pdf

"Environmental magnetic and geochemical characterization of atmospheric particulate dust in Visakhapatnam city, India: A new technique of textile monitoring of pollution", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.4, Issue 11, page no. pp649-658, November-2017, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1711111.pdf