Abstract
Indoor dust can be a major source of heavy metals, nutrients, and bacterial contamination in residential environments and may cause serious health problems. The goal of this research is to characterize chemical and bacterial contaminants of indoor, settled house dust in the Houston Metropolitan region. To achieve this, a total of 31 indoor dust samples were collected, along with household survey data, which were subsequently analyzed for elemental and bacterial concentrations. Microscopic and geospatial analysis was conducted to characterize and map potential hotspots of contamination. Interestingly Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations of all 31 indoor dust samples were significantly enriched and exceeded soil background concentrations. Furthermore, As, Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations in the dust samples were significantly correlated to the enteric bacterial load concentrations. Human health assessment revealed that cancer risk values via ingestion for Cd, Cr, and Ni were greater than the acceptable range. Of our 31 dust sample isolates, three Gram-negative and 16 Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria were identified, capable of causing a wide range of diseases. Our results demonstrate that both chemical and bacterial characterization of indoor dust coupled with spatial mapping is essential to assess and monitor human and ecological health risks.
Highlights
Indoor air pollution coupled with poor ventilation may cause serious problems, for some women, children, and elderly who spend a great deal of time indoors
The common sources for Cu in the house dust include building material and products such as pipes, electrical appliances, wires, and treated wood; Pb can be sourced to cheap metal jewelry, plastic toys, paints, and solder, Ni from stainless steel debris, Zn from rubber carpets, household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines, and Cd from various plastics and batteries [4,5]
The spatial distribution of indoor dust borne contaminants and risk assessments from exposure to heavy metals in household dust was investigated for the Houston metropolitan region
Summary
Indoor air pollution coupled with poor ventilation may cause serious problems, for some women, children, and elderly who spend a great deal of time indoors. Most people spend approximately 80–95% of their time in indoor facilities breathing on average 10–14 m3 of air per day [1]. About 3.8 million premature deaths per year are attributed to indoor air pollution [2]. Adverse health effects such as cardiovascular deaths, asthma, nervous system disorders, and stunted growth are among the many conditions associated with indoor air contamination [2,3,4]. Indoor contaminants often get suspended in air, adhere to particulate matter, and settle as dust covering furniture, floors, and other objects [5]
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