金属铅及其化合物均为有毒物质,广泛应用于冶金、化工、颜料、农药等工业部门,易造成局部污染。因汽车尾气而产生的全球性铅污染,开始于本世纪二十年代初,即美国人 T·Midgley 和 A·Boyd 成功地将四乙基铅用作汽油抗爆剂以后。半个世纪以来,经汽油燃烧排入大气的铅已有数百万吨,成为当今世界令人注目的主要公害之一。

The gaseous tetraethyl lead in ambient air is collected by enrichment in an active carbon adsorption tube.The macerated lead in concentrated nitric acid is determined by anodic stripping voltammetry.The ambient air of urban area of Beijing and Tianjing cities is observed by this approach.The measured concentrations of tetraethyl lead in local ambient air of the refinery industry district is higher.In Beijing and Tianjin cities,the tetraethyl lead concentrations are:0.1～0.3μg/m³ at gasoline station and parking lot,0.01～0.20μg/m³ in city-street, and 0.005～0.030μg/³ in rural area.The distribution of tetraethyl lead in ambient air of urban area shows some regularity.If in an atmosphere at a distance of 320 meters above the earth surface,and at a night without any motor vehicle to be active,the quantity of tetraethyl lead measured is appropriate it indicates that this alkyl lead compound is possible to reside in the atmosp here for longer time.