Abstract
Elemental composition of airborne dust samples retained by internal filters of air condition units (ACUs) was determined at 12 locations of Doha city, state of Qatar. Twenty-four elements: Al, Ca, Mg, Fe, Na, K, Ti, Zn, P, Sr, Mn, Ba, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, V, Mo, Li, Co, Sb, As, Cd, Be, were analysed by ICP-OES technique after acid digestion of the samples. The analysed components reflect 20.6% of the total sample mass. Similar or lower concentration values have been found for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, Al, and Fe compared to the international context of upper crust concentrations, NIST SRM (urban dust), published local dust information of outdoor, and surface terrestrial deposit (STD) counted for 7.2, 0.7, 91.8, 192.8, 369.7, 68.6, 65.3, 52.1, 824.3, 19,791, 20,508 mg/kg, respectively. The coefficient of correlation (p ≤ 0.05) showed significant association of ACUs dust elemental compositions with the main components of the local earth crust and surface deposits, ranging from the lowest 0.77 (Mg–Fe) to the highest 0.98 (Al–Fe), while Ni and V, typical anthropogenic pollutants, are also strongly correlated (0.86). These strong correlation relationships can be interpreted as the contribution of outdoor particulate to the indoor dust. Dendrogram of metal/Al ratios, based on Euclidean distance calculation and average linkage clustering method, distinguished three typical groups. Studying the enrichment factors of the three groups indicated elevated levels of Zn (131), Pb (49), Cu (32), Cd (8) and Ni (5) found indoors compared to the background composition of STD especially at locations in the industrial zone. The major elemental composition of the samples reflects the typical mineral composition of the local dust, while the trace composition demonstrates the influence of indoor sources. The collected ACU filter dust samples show significant contribution of outdoor mineral particles, non-exhaust traffic emission, industrial sources, as well as the influence of indoor activity such as smoking.
Highlights
The focus on heavy metal pollution in household dust has increased recently, as metallic elements can have a significant effect on human health and the ecosystem
The compositions of indoor dust were compared to upper continental crustal concentrations (UCC) given by Rudnick and Gao (2003), and other local dust samples such as outdoor dust (OD), road dust (Rd) and terrestrial surface deposit (STD) collected at urban and background locations of Qatar (Yigiterhan et al 2018) in order to determine the enrichment relative to the background composition
It is noted from the table that the analysed elements refer about 23.3–24.6% of the total mass of OD, Rd and surface terrestrial deposit (STD) samples, while 20.6% of the air condition units (ACUs) samples
Summary
The focus on heavy metal pollution in household dust has increased recently, as metallic elements can have a significant effect on human health and the ecosystem. Heavy metals can be toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative, and have the ability for biomagnification (Shi et al 2011) These elements adsorbed by dust particles can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed via dermal contact (Glorennec et al 2012; Sah et al 2018; Sharma et al 2018). Their accumulation within the tissue and internal organs (Zheng et al 2010) can affect the central nervous system and may lead to the promotion of other diseases (Faiz et al 2009). A recent report released in 2013 by the Qatar Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics (MDPS) highlighted that the pollution levels in Qatar frequently exceed the WHO recommendations as well as Qatar’s air quality targets (MDPS 2014)
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