WET DEPOSITION OF IONIC ALKYLLEADS AND TOTAL LEAD IN URBAN AREAS OF CROATIA

Concentration of ionic alkyllead compounds (IAL) and total lead have been measured in wet deposition from two urban areas in Croatia (towns of Zagreb and Sibenik). Rain water and snow contained IAL in the concentration range of 10-280 ngPb l-1 or 0.03-4% expressed as a percentage of the total lead. The most abundant IAL species were trialkyllead derivatives. Inorganic and dialkyllead species in rainwater were found to be partially bound to particles, whereas trialkyllead was entirely dissolved. During winter an increased level of IAL was observed in rain, but not in snow samples. An estimation has shown that organic and total lead deposited by the wet precipitation on the area of the town represent only a small portion (<5%) of lead compounds emitted from vehicles.