Heavy Metals In Road Research Articles

Levels, Risk and Sources of Heavy Metals in Road Dust from University Campus - A Case Study of Xichang, Southwest China

Levels, Risk and Sources of Heavy Metals in Road Dust from University Campus - A Case Study of Xichang, Southwest China

Exploring Environment Pollution and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Road Dusts from a Typical Steel-Industrial City (Anshan), Northeastern China

Exploring Environment Pollution and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Road Dusts from a Typical Steel-Industrial City (Anshan), Northeastern China

Health implications, distribution and source apportionment of heavy metals in road deposited dust of Jammu City in northern India

Road deposited dust (RDD) is an important indicators of heavy metal contamination in urban areas. In this study, we measured eight heavy metals (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb) in RDD collected from 34 different locations in Jammu city represented by different land uses such as industrial, urban-residential, high-density traffic, and sub-urban locations, and evaluated their ecological and health risks. The ratio of metal concentrations in RDD to their respective background levels varied as: Cu (3.94) > Pb (3.75) > Zn (3.01) > Cr (1.75) > Ni (1.51) > Mn (1.40) > V (1.35) > Fe (1.1) suggesting Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb were enriched anthropogenically. Geospatial maps revealed a heterogeneous distribution of metals in Jammu city with metal(s) specific hotspots primarily localized around high traffic density locations and industrial clusters. The index of geoaccumulation indicated 32%, 26%, 20%, 9%, and 8%, of samples belonged to “moderately polluted” category for Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni respectively. Health index (HI) showed low non-carcinogenic hazards of metal contamination to adults but a high hazard to children. Though the values of total carcinogenic risks (TCR) (6.53E-05 to 3.71E−04) considerably exceeded the USEPA acceptable levels (1 × 10−6 ≤ TCR <1 × 10−4) suggesting high carcinogenic risks of metal contamination to both adults and children. Besides potential ecological risk index (PERI) revealed that 56% of samples had PERI >40 suggesting “moderate to high ecological risk” of metal contamination in the Jammu city RDD.

Contamination characteristics and potential environmental implications of heavy metals in road dusts in typical industrial and agricultural cities, southeastern Hubei Province, Central China

In November 2013, the total concentration of selected heavy metals in 43 urban dust samples, collected from two small-sized cities of industrial E'zhou and agricultural Huanggang, located in the southeastern Hubei province, central China, was detected quantitatively by flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) for ultimate purpose of pollution monitoring and risk evaluation. Results indicated that the mean concentrations exceeding their respective background values were observed for all the investigated metals, with the exception of Co (13.08mg kg-1) and Fe (38635.02mg kg-1)in Huanggang road dusts, whose average concentrations were close to the background levels. In comparison with the reference data reported from the selected cities worldwide, the urban road dusts were seriously polluted by heavy metals to diverse degrees. The contour distribution maps implied that obviously higher values zones were found between two different types of urban areas, located to both sides of the coastline of Yangtze River. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the enriched heavy metals had emanated from the combined effects of both natural sources and anthropogenic sources. Three pollution indices indicated that the riskiest element mainly comprising Cr, Ni, Cu, and Pb appeared to be the major contributors to the urban environmental pollution. Avoiding continuous damage requires, the riskiest metallic contaminants should be paid preferential attention to.

Tracing Sources and Contamination Assessments of Heavy Metals in Road and Foliar Dusts in a Typical Mining City, China.

Road and foliar dust samples from four land-use districts of Panzhihua City, a famous V-Ti magnetite production area of China, were collected to investigate the sources and distribution characteristics of 9 heavy metals (V, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Fe, and Mn). The results suggest that foliar samples had smaller particle size and higher heavy metal contents than road dusts. The contamination assessments of heavy metals were as follows: Pb and V (significant enrichment) > Zn, Ni, Cr, Fe, and Mn (moderate enrichment) > Cd and Ni (minimal enrichment). Statistical analyses showed Pb, as the primary pollution element, originated from waste incineration and lead-fuel combustion. The sources of Zn, Ni, Cr, Fe, V, and Mn were fugitive dust and traffic activities. Potential origins of Cu were corrosion of alloys used in vehicle components, vehicle covers, or other metallic surfaces and materials. The sources of Cd were different from any other heavy metals. Traffic and industrial activities were the main anthropogenic origins of heavy metals in dusts of Panzhihua, and more attention should be paid to heavy metal pollution in agricultural area.

Heavy metals in road deposited sediments and road dusts of Colombo Capital, Sri Lanka

Road deposited sediment (RDS) and road dust analyses are useful techniques to understand the heavy metal (HM) pollution in an urban area. Therefore, this study focused on the chemical characteristics of RDS and road dust in order to evaluate the pollution conditions in the Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) in terms of HMs. Forty six (46) RDS samples and forty eight (48) road dust samples were collected, and elemental concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb, Fe, Mn and Cr were determined. Out of these measured elements, the most abundant element in all the samples was Fe, which is a common element in the basement lateritic soil in the area. Cu, Pb, Fe and Cr concentrations in RDS are high in industrial areas, while Zn and Mn are high in commercial areas. Except Fe, all the other element levels were higher in road dust than in RDS. Data analysis revealed that vehicle-related activities are the dominant source for the metals in the city. Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe contents were significantly higher than the background levels of the area. Statistical analysis reconfirms that road dust is more polluted than RDS in terms of Zn and Cu. According to the geoaccumulation index, road dust is moderate to strongly polluted and RDS are moderately polluted. Higher pollution conditions of road dust may be due to the resuspension of dust particles. Spatial distribution patterns show that HMs of anthropogenic origin were accumulated towards the North and Northwestern parts where the transportation related activities are centered in the CMR. However, the prevailing natural conditions such as wind direction, geomorphology and basement soil also control the level of contamination in the area.

Demonstrating urban pollution using heavy metals in road dusts from Lucknow City, Uttar Pradesh, India

Increasing urbanization and growth in vehicular density has become a growing concern in recent years. Road dusts in urban areas are indicators of heavy metal contamination. In present study road dust samples have been taken from 30 representative locations categorized as residential, commercial and industrial areas in Lucknow city for assessing the concentration of eight heavy metals. Results showed that road dust samples contained significantly high levels of the metals as compared to the values from the background site. In all the road dusts, iron is the most available and labile element followed by zinc. Road dusts concentration varied from 2365.21-10652.01 for Fe, 94.11-374.23 for Zn, 58.80-185.56 for Mn,5.45-55.26 for lead, 6.63-60.12 for Cu, 3.07-26.45 for Cr, 2.50-18.69 for Ni and 0.14-0.85 for Cd. All concentration values are in mg/kg. Contamination was assessed on the basis of contamination factor and pollution load index. The overall degree of contamination is of the order industrial> commercial > residential. A very significant correlation was found between zinc, copper, lead and chromium. The results of multivariate analysis showed that Zn, Cr, Cu, Pb & Ni were associated mainly with anthropogenic activities while Fe and Mn was controlled by lithogenic materials.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and heavy metals in road dusts from a plastic waste recycling area in north China: implications for human health.

Road dusts were collected from an area where intense mechanical recycling of plastic wastes occurs in Wen'an, north China. These dusts were investigated for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and heavy metals contamination to assess the health risk related to these components. Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) and Σ21PBDE concentrations in these dusts ranged from 2.67 to 10,424 ng g(-1) and from 3.23 to 10,640 ng g(-1), respectively. These PBDE concentrations were comparable to those observed in road dust from e-waste recycling areas but were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than concentrations in outdoor or road dusts from other areas. This indicates that road dusts in the study area have high levels of PBDE pollution. BDE-209 was the predominant congener, accounting for 86.3% of the total PBDE content in dusts. Thus, commercial deca-BDE products were the dominant source. The average concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, and Zn in these same dust samples were 10.1, 0.495, 112, 54.7, 0.150, 71.8, 10.6, and 186 mg kg(-1), respectively. The geoaccumulation index suggests that road dusts in this area are moderately to heavily polluted with Cd, Hg, and Sb. This study shows that plastic waste processing is a major source of toxic pollutants in road dusts in this area. Although the health risk from exposure to dust PBDEs was low, levels of some heavy metals in this dust exceeded acceptable risk levels for children and are of great concern.

Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Road Dusts in Urban Parks of Beijing, China

Due to the continuous urbanization and industrialization in many countries of the world, heavy metals are continuously emitted into the terrestrial environment and pose a great threat on human health. A detailed study was conducted to determine the concentrations of six heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in road dusts in urban parks of Beijing, and assessed the health risk of these metals for local people. The dust samples were collected from 13 different urban parks in Beijing, China. The health risk was assessed using Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Health Index (HI). The results show that the average concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb in the dust samples are 69.33, 25.97, 72.13, 219.20 0.64 and 201.82 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were much higher than those in the background value of Chinese soil. The assessment of health risk indicated that there were mainly three exposure pathways for people: ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation. The main exposure pathway of heavy metals to both children and adults is ingestion. The values of HQ and HI are lower than the safe level (=1), indicating no health risk exists in present condition. Meanwhile, the HI value for children is higher than that for adults, indicating that children have higher potential health risk than adults in Beijing parks.

Assessment of Toxic Levels of Some Heavy Metals in Road Deposited Sediments in Suleja, Nigeria

Road deposited sediments contain toxic metals which can pollute terrestrial as well as aquatic environments when these pollutants are mobilized during storm run-off. Assessment of toxic metals in the road deposited sediments of Suleja streets was carried out. 30 samples were collected from seven selected streets. The road sediment samples were di- gested with a mixture of HNO3 and HClO4 (2:1 v/v), and analyzed for the metals Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd and Ni using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Results showed that metal concentrations were in the order Zn>Pb>Cu>Ni>Cd>Cr. Geo-accumulation Index indicated that the contamination degree ranged from unpolluted to moderately polluted areas. Po- tential Ecological Risk Index demonstrated that overall risk caused by metals ranges from moderate to low. Only Cd con- stitutes considerable risk and contributed 60.15% of the total risk.

Risk assessment of heavy metals in road and soil dusts within PM2.5, PM10 and PM100 fractions in Dongying city, Shandong Province, China

15 road and 14 soil dust samples were collected from an oilfield city, Dongying, from 11/2009-4/2010 and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) for V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb within PM(2.5), PM(10) and PM(100) fractions synchronously. Metal concentrations, sources and human health risk were studied. Results showed that both soil and road dust exhibited higher values for Mn and Zn and lower values for Co and Cd for the three fractions. Mass concentration ratios of PM(2.5)/PM(10) and PM(10)/PM(100) for metals in road and soil dust indicate that most of the heavy metals tend to concentrate in fine particles. Geoaccumulation index and enrichment factors analysis showed that Cu, Zn and Cd exhibited moderate or heavy contamination and significant enrichment, indicating the influence of anthropogenic sources. Vanadium, Cr, Mn and Co were mostly not enriched and were mainly influenced by crustal sources. For Ni, As and Pb, they ranged from not enriched to moderately enriched and were influenced by both crustal materials and anthropogenic sources. The conclusions were confirmed by multivariate analysis methods. Principle component analysis revealed that the major sources were vehicle emission, industrial activities, coal combustion, agricultural activities and crustal materials. The risk assessment results indicated that metal ingestion appeared to be the main exposure route followed by dermal contact. The most likely cause for cancer and other health risks are both the fine particles of soil and road dusts.