Accumulation and risk assessment of heavy metals in dust in main living areas of Guiyang City, Southwest China

Abstract

Guiyang is a famous tourist city located in southwestern China. In this study, dust from eleven residential areas, seven city squares, and nine schools was collected to measure the heavy metal levels and evaluate its risk. At each sampling site, 4-5 sub-samples were taken as a bulk sample. All samples were air-dried, ground, passed through a 0.105 mm nylon sieve, digested with HNO3-HClO4 to determine the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn by ICP-MS, and digested with 1:1 aqua regia to determine As by AFS. The results show that the concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in dust of Guiyang City follow normal distribution with means of 16.1, 1.54, 138, 47.7, 129 and 479 mg/kg, respectively. Levels of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn exceed the background level of soil in Guizhou Province by 33%, 96%, 100%, 78%, 96%, and 100%, respectively. Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn are heavily accumu- lated in dust of living areas with accumulation factors of 4.10, 5.12, 4.12 and 5.51, respectively. City square pos- sesses the highest geometric means of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. The risks of heavy metal exposure to teenagers are not obvious and in an order of As>Pb>Cu>Ni>Zn (Cd).