Arsenic is ubiquitous in the environment and of special concern due to its varying toxicity depending on the chemical form present. Less is known about arsenic in air, especially about organoarsenicals, their sources and fate. There is also a lack of knowledge regarding arsenic in airborne nanoparticles that are critical for understanding with respect to human health effects due to their size. Here we show results from an arsenic speciation analysis in size-resolved airborne particles with aerodynamic diameters down to 15 nm. Analysis of aerosols from a respiratory therapeutic cave showed temporarily higher concentrations of trimethylarsine oxide than inorganic arsenic and substantial amounts of organoarsenicals, especially in smaller particles. Our method provides guidance for future studies investigating arsenicals in ultrafine particles and their health implications. Furthermore, the method developed can be used to widely monitor particle-bound organoarsenicals to fully understand the importance of As biovolatilization in the environment.

Transport Research Centre Division of Sustainable Transport and Transport Buildings Diagnostics Líšeňská 33a 619 00 Brno Czech Republic

Transport Research Centre Division of Sustainable Transport and Transport Buildings Diagnostics Líšeňská 33a 619 00 Brno Czech Republic; Masaryk University Faculty of Sciences Department of Geological Sciences Kotlářská 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic; Palacký University Faculty of Science Department of Geology 17 Listopadu 1192 12 771 46 Olomouc Czech Republic

University of Graz Institute of Chemistry Analytical Chemistry for Health and Environment Universitaetsplatz 1 8010 Graz Austria

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Seasonal and spatial variations of arsenic and its species in particulate matter in an urban environment of Brno, Czech Republic

Occurrence, Seasonal Variation, and Size Resolved Distribution of Arsenic Species in Atmospheric Particulate Matter in an Urban Area in Southeastern Austria