Abstract
Air pollution impacts all populations globally, indiscriminately and has site-specific variation and characteristics. Airborne particulate matter (PM) levels were monitored in a typical industrial Russian city, Chelyabinsk in three destinations, one characterized by high traffic volumes and two by industrial zone emissions. The mass concentration and trace metal content of PM2.5 and PM10 were obtained from samples collected during four distinct seasons of 2020. The mean 24-h PM10 ranged between 6 and 64 μg/m3. 24-h PM2.5 levels were reported from 5 to 56 μg/m3. About half of the 24-h PM10 and most of the PM2.5 values in Chelyabinsk were higher than the WHO recommendations. The mean PM2.5/PM10 ratio was measured at 0.85, indicative of anthropogenic input. To evaluate the Al, Fe, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentration in PM2.5 and PM10, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used. Fe (337–732 ng/m3) was the most abundant component in PM2.5 and PM10 samples while Zn (77–206 ng/m3), Mn (10–96 ng/m3), and Pb (11–41 ng/m3) had the highest concentrations among trace elements. Total non-carcinogenic risks for children were found higher than 1, indicating possible health hazards. This study also presents that the carcinogenic risk for As, Cr, Co, Cd, Ni, and Pb were observed higher than the acceptable limit (1 × 10−6).
Highlights
An increasing awareness of air quality and air pollutants in general are fostered amongst populations due to media coverage, changing policies, new air quality standards, and disaster events such as the COVID-19 pandemic
(35 and 60 μg/m3 (24-h mean concentrations), 25 and 40 μg/m3, respectively) [2]. This resulted in numerous monitoring stations across the country. It needs to be noted though, that the adopted guideline values are much higher than what has been recommended by the WHO, which recently changed to even lower levels of 15 and 45 μg/m3 (24-h mean concentrations), and 5 and 15 μg/m3, for PM10 and PM2.5, respectively [3]
It should be noted that Russian standards differ from WHO recommended limits
Summary
An increasing awareness of air quality and air pollutants in general are fostered amongst populations due to media coverage, changing policies, new air quality standards, and disaster events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban populations become increasingly aware of the impact that poor air quality has on their health and the environment [1]. (35 and 60 μg/m3 (24-h mean concentrations), 25 and 40 μg/m3 (annual mean concentrations), respectively) [2]. This resulted in numerous monitoring stations across the country. It needs to be noted though, that the adopted guideline values are much higher than what has been recommended by the WHO, which recently changed to even lower levels of 15 and 45 μg/m3 (24-h mean concentrations), and 5 and 15 μg/m3 (annual mean concentrations), for PM10 and PM2.5 , respectively [3].
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