Automobiles Account For Platinum In Environment

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2/3/97 12124 News Summary

AUTOMOBILES HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR PLATIMUN IN THE ENVIRONMENT

The catalytic converter in your automobile may be removing most of the air pollutants in the car's exhaust gases, but it is also emitting a fine dust containing platinum, a precious metal that is the key ingredient in making the converter effective in controlling air pollution, according to Dr. R. R. Barefoot of the University of Toronto. As the use of these platinum catalysts has increased worldwide, there is growing concern about how this new source of pollution will effect public health, Barefoot says. His summary of the current research on measuring platinum and its effects in the environment appear in the February issue of Environmental Science & Technology, a monthly publication of the American Chemical Society.

Platinum and the other precious metals in the catalyst, such as palladium and rhodium, are deposited along roadways, on adjacent vegetation and soil, and in bodies of water either directly or as runoff, Barefoot says. The widespread pollution of the environment by the precious metals, especially platinum, is unprecedented, Barefoot maintains. But in contrast to the large amount of information available on the toxicity of lead and mercury, the corresponding information is not yet available for platinum, he says.

People may be exposed by direct contact with the dust and inhalation of the fine particles, or by consuming contaminated foods. Barefoot says there are indications that platinum has already entered the food chain in much the same manner as mercury did during the 1960s. Bacteria in the environment act upon the metal, resulting in an organic platinum compound that can be incorporated by organisms.

Because platinum occurs in such small amounts in the environmental samples, Barefoot admits that it has been difficult to obtain accurate data on the amounts of platinum accumulating in the environment. Although the chemical techniques for analysis are constantly being improved and the amount of data on environmental platinum has increased, the hazardous levels associated with platinum have yet to be determined.

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