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Regulations banning lead have effectively reduced its environmental impacts, but trace amounts of lead remain in the environment posing potential health risks and ecosystem damage. This study aims to measure lead isotopes in airborne particulates and topsoil in southern Taiwan and identify potential lead sources in these environments. Samples were collected from various environmental sites catalogued into factory and residential areas. Fine (PM2.5) and coarse particles (PM2.5-10) were collected from ambient air and topsoil at the same locations. Radioactive lead isotopes were analyzed using resin extraction with a low-energy germanium detector, while stable lead isotopes were measured via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 ranged from 9.97 to 41.37 mu g/m(3) and 14.04-46.69 mu g/m(3), and the concentrations of lead in airborne particulates were 1.86-7.97 ng/m(3) (in PM2.5) and 6.49-14.04 ng/m(3) (in PM10), and in topsoil were 2.00-14.00 mg/kg, respectively. Radioactive lead isotopes in the airborne particulates and top soils were in the range of minimum detectable activity (MDA) < 2.0-19.0 mBq/m(3 )and 8.50-65.2 Bq/kg, respectively. Moreover, the stable lead isotope ratios of Pb-208/Pb-207 and Pb-206/Pb-207 were 2.43-2.50 and 1.15-1.20, respectively. The results resemble those from China (coal dust, PM, soils) and the USA (PM, soils, gasoline, paint, coals and fly ash). The potential sources of lead in the airborne particulates and topsoil in southern Taiwan were attributed to the combination of long-range transport (LRT) of lead from anthropogenic activities and the resuspension of residual lead in the local soils from early usage in southern Taiwan.

来源平台：ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION RESEARCH