Abstract
Although runoff from trafficked urban areas is recognized as a potentially significant pathway of micropollutants, runoff pollution remains poorly documented, except for relatively few historical pollutants such as some metals and hydrocarbons. Therefore, in this work, road and parking lot runoff from four sites with contrasting traffic levels were analyzed for a very broad spectrum of molecules and elements. A total of 128 pollutants and micropollutants were monitored, including inorganic (n = 41) and organic (n = 87) pollutants. Both the dissolved and particulate phases were considered. For a reduced number of samples, non-targeted screening by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was carried out. For targeted screening, the contamination profiles were quite homogeneous, but the concentrations significantly differed between the different sites. Sites with the highest traffic density exhibited the highest concentrations for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some traffic-related metals, alkylphenols and phthalates. Overall, for most micropollutants, the parking lot runoff exhibited the lowest concentrations, and the specificity of this site was confirmed by its HRMS fingerprint. Non-target screening allowed the sites to be discriminated based on the occurrence of specific compounds. Unlike the results of targeted screening, the HRMS intra-site variability was lower than its inter-site variability. Unknown substances were tentatively identified, either characteristic of each site or ubiquitous of all samples.
Highlights
Since the 1980s, numerous studies have demonstrated that urban stormwater contributes to the deterioration of the quality of receiving environments [1,2]
By coupling targeted and non-targeted screening, this study aimed to investigate a broad range of pollutants, including historical (PAH and metals) and emerging micropollutants, as well as poorly documented pollutants in road runoff
The conductivity, total suspended solids (TSS) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations varied in a wide range from one rain event to another, which is typical for urban runoff due to the variability of antecedent dry weather duration, rain depth and rain intensity [5,22], and variations over time at sources, e.g., road salt application in winter
Summary
Since the 1980s, numerous studies have demonstrated that urban stormwater contributes to the deterioration of the quality of receiving environments [1,2]. Among the various urban surfaces, traffic areas are especially likely to emit a wide range of micropollutants into the runoff. They may originate from multiple sources [3,4]: exhaust gases; abrasion of tires, brakes and other mechanical parts of vehicles; leakage of various automotive fluids; leaching from exterior metallic or polymeric materials of vehicles and erosion or leaching from pavement coating, road paints and urban furniture. Most studies have focused on densely trafficked highways; less information is available for urban roads with lower traffic and for parking lots [3,6,7]. In order to develop road and parking lot runoff management strategies that limit the diffuse contamination of receiving water bodies, more in-depth knowledge about the sources and concentrations of these contaminants is needed
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