Roadside Areas Research Articles

Guideline Values for the Content of Chemical Elements in Soils of Urban Functional Zones: A Review

—The Russian soil quality assessment system, where the guideline values for the content of heavy metals and metalloids derived for arable lands (mostly, in terms of the general sanitary indicator of harmfulness) are applied to soils of the residential area and the protected area of water supply sources, can be updated using international experience, e.g., substantiation of generic values for urban functional zones since, with a few exceptions, the Russian soil quality guidelines are the same for all soils of the country. In order to assess the applicability of foreign approaches to Russian realities, we have thoroughly analyzed the original and most developed legislation systems of the soil quality control in cities of Germany, Canada, and the United States, as well as the systems of Australia, New Zealand, Republic of South Africa, and the countries of the European Union, where the values are land use specific. In this paper, we summarize the principles of soil quality assessment for the contents of chemical elements, brief the methodology used in different countries and the consequences of exceeding the standards, and highlight some clues for improving the Russian soil quality assessment system. The Russian soil quality assessment system can be improved and updated by substantiating (i) the land use specific standards for cities with the focus on actual subjects of standardization (the health of ecosystems, children, or adults); (ii) the standards for different geochemical environments taking into account the specific features of migration of substances; and (iii) the standards for the soil materials used to construct lawns and roadside areas. In addition, we suggest (i) developing a comprehensive system of management decisions for the case when soil quality standards are exceeded; (ii) legitimizing the concept of historical pollution that existed before the commencement of business activities; and (iii) establishing the minimum volume of soil and the depth or set of soil horizons to be remediated or removed due to pollution.

Multi-criteria analysis for evaluating the function and location of roadside rest areas to improve disaster preparedness

The roadside rest area (RRA), called “Michi no eki” in Japanese, is a facility that provides comfortable rest and diverse services to road users through community initiatives. There are many RRAs developed since its first establishment in 1993. It is important to identify the RRAs and regions where a certain function is weak, so as to build more substantial RRAs in the future. In this research, we divided the RRA functions into four categories, rest, information, regional collaboration, and disaster prevention, and listed their evaluation items. By checking the performance of RRAs in terms of the four functions, we can evaluate whether their performance can be improved by sharing functions with or complementing neighboring RRAs. We then calculated the evaluation results. During the evaluation, we compared two types of cases: one where the RRA was evaluated alone and the other where overlay evaluation was performed. The latter considered the distance among RRAs so that a complementary relationship with others could be expressed. Furthermore, we devised a method to calculate the impact of RRAs on an area and evaluate the region for this. By applying these methods, we were able to answer the question: “Where and for what functions are roadside rest areas needed?"

Расчет локальных поправочных коэффициентов кадастровой стоимости для земельных участков, граничащих с автомобильными дорогами, методом парных продаж (на примере Республики Крым)

With the development of society and its socio-economic relations, the growth of industrial production, the intensification of anthropogenic impact on the environment, the area of land with an unsatisfactory ecological state has increased. When cadastral valuation of real estate objects, the impact of stationary sources of pollution is most often taken into account, the emissions of which are 3.2 times higher than air pollution from mobile sources. The authors considered the method of paired sales for calculating local correction factors in the cadastral valuation of roadside areas of highways. It was established that in the zone of increased pollution level (from 0 to 50 m from the edge of the roadway) there are 34 land plots with the type of permitted use "individual housing construction" (IZhS). The results of the calculations showed that the correction factor for the location is 0.83 in the urban area. Zuya and 0.76 in the village. Kind. Thus, the cadastral value of these real estate objects will be reduced by 17 and 24 %, respectively. The results obtained make it possible to accurately cadastral value of land plots experiencing a strong technogenic impact of highways.

IMPACT OF REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION AND AIR POLLUTION ON INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF MELIA AZEDARACH L. LEAVES

This study was performed to investigate the impact of air pollution on leaf area and anatomical features of Melia azedarach L. trees, in urban areas with three demographical classes: location (I) industrial area, location (II) roadside area and free parts (control area) as a location (III) of Duhok city/Kurdistan Region-Iraq, during July 2021. The results demonstrated that the leaf area of selected plants' leaves in location I had reduced with no noticeable change in the average stomata density in the three locations I, II and Ⅲ. Meanwhile, the results of the most anatomical features of the blade (blade, lower cuticle, epidermis (both upper and lower) thickness, palisade layer height and spongy parenchyma width) in addition to midrib parameters (epidermis thickness (upper and lower), collenchyma and parenchyma layer width, phloem and xylem width and pith diameter) were decreased in both locations I, II, and with well-developed anatomical features in location III.

A Design Method for the Roadside Clear Zone Based on Accident Simulation Analysis

In order to improve the safety design of roadside areas and reduce the loss of roadside accidents, this paper uses PC-Crash software to perform an accident simulation analysis. By recording the track of the vehicle after entering the roadside, the recommended widths of the roadside clear zone for different operating speeds and horizontal curve radii in straight and curved sections are given. According to our previous research data, the conditions for setting the roadside clear zone are proposed. Finally, based on a cost-benefit ratio analysis, a comprehensive risk index method is adopted to evaluate the social stability risk of the project and conduct research on the design method of the roadside clear zone. The results show that the width of the roadside clear zone has an exponential relation with the departure speed and a power relation with the horizontal curve radius. The research results realize the accurate calculation of the roadside clear zone width and fill in the gaps of the relevant specifications and guidelines in the setting conditions of the roadside clear zone.

Living Snow Fences: International Practices

In winter, in the countries with snow covered regions, one of the main tasks of road maintenance is to combat snow deposits, snowpacks and snowdrifts on the roadway. Living snow fences consisting of tree and shrub plantings are among known world practices to protect roads against effects of snow deposits. They are environmentally friendly, durable and have great snow retention capacity. However, there are several constraints regarding application of those practices.The analysis of the design, spacing and planting schemes refers to Russian and foreign living snow fences used to protect highways, considers the features, advantages, and disadvantages of living fences in different countries. Japanese and American designs are reviewed as international experience. The influence of the state of trees on the efficiency of their snow-retaining function has been determined. As a result, the need for monitoring and proper maintenance of existing living snow fences throughout their life cycle was confirmed using the examples of surveys of forest plantations in Kazakhstan and in Volgograd region of the Russian Federation.The author presents promising directions for improving the structures and planting schemes of snow storage living fences, namely, an integrated approach to their design as of a protection not only against snowdrifts, but also against pollutants. Such solutions include the design of protective living fences using only tall shrubs, providing the best blowing of roadside areas and dispersion of contaminants. Another solution is to complement the species planted within living fences with willow and corn. Besides, referring to global climate changes, an important task for modern science has been identified, that is to update the current standards for the design of living fences under the current meteorological conditions.Recommendations on the use of mathematical modelling with the help of computer software are suggested regarding development of new configurations of living fences, assessment of their effectiveness, as well as on the adoption of modern technologies such as video cameras and drones during field tests.

Oil and gas wastewater as road treatment: radioactive material exposure implications at the residential lot and block scale

The resurgence of oil and gas extraction in the Appalachian Basin has resulted in an excess of oil and gas brines in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Primarily driven by unconventional development, this expansion has also impacted conventional wells and consequently, created economic pressure to develop effective and cheap disposal options. Using brine as a road treatment, directly or as a processed deicer, however, creates substantial concern that naturally occurring radioactive material in the brines can contaminate roads and road-side areas. Current decision making is based on risk exposure scenarios developed by regulatory agencies based on recreational users in rural areas and exposures to drivers during a typical commute. These scenarios are not appropriate for evaluating exposures to residential deicer users or people living near treated streets. More appropriate exposure scenarios were developed in this work and exposures predicted with these models based on laboratory measurements and literature data. Exposure scenarios currently used for regulatory assessment of brine road treatment result in predicted exposures of 0.4–0.6 mrem/year. Residential exposures predicted by the scenarios developed in this work are 4.6 mrem/year. If the maximum range of near-road soil radium concentrations observed in the region is used in this residential scenario (60 pCi/g 226Ra, 50 pCi/g 228Ra), residents living near these roads would be exposed to an estimated 296 mrems/year, above regulatory exposure thresholds used in nuclear facility siting assessments. These results underline the urgent need to clarify exposure risks from the use of oil and gas brines as a road treatment, particularly given the existing disparities in the distribution of road impacts across socioeconomic status.

Habitat Types Effect on Diversity, Distribution and Abundance of Dung Beetles

Dung beetles are ecologically important taxa to study the assessment of habitat modification and disturbance across the globe. This study was aimed to explore community composition, species richness and abundance of dung beetles in response to Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. Dung beetle assemblage were sampled from four habitat (natural rangeland, cropland, roadside and housing colonies) during 2014-2016 by placing pitfall traps baited with cattle dung. A total number of 540 specimens representing 17 species belonging to seven genera and four tribes were collected. We calculated species relative abundance in natural habitat (34.8%), cropland habitat (40.4%) and in road side areas (25.2%) was recorded, whereas no specimens were recorded in urban areas. Aphodius contaminatus (42.96%) was the most abundant species followed by Onitis castaneous (26.29%) and Onitis singhalensis (20.74%). Tunnellers (50.58%) and dwellers (49.01%) were dominant in all habitats, whereas rollers were least abundant (1.37%). The values of Shannon-Wiener (H) diversity and evenness (E) showed variations among different habitats i.e. natural habitat (H=1.20; E=0.55), cropland habitat (H=1.41, E=0.32) and roads-side (H=0.80, E=0.37). The study showed that cropland served as a major habitat for dung beetles due to its uniformity and close association with mammalian fauna. The results emphasized that natural habitats within the agro-ecosystem have become isolated and fragmented habitat with lesser stability and low resources thus resulting into less diverse habitat. Roadside areas are in close proximity with cropland and act as corridors for efficient species flow within ecosystem due to cattle movement through these areas.
 
 

Vectors of Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. Invasion on the territory of Moscow region: history and modernity (as exemplified by the Shakhovskaya Urban District)

Sosnovsky’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden.) was used as an ornamental plant since the middle of the 20th century, but has now become a dangerous invasive weed having invaded the ecosystems of Moscow region. Based on the literature and new original data obtained through observations on H. sosnowskyi dispersal across Moscow region, H. sosnowskyi pathways (dispersal vectors) that have existed since the culture was introduced in the 1960s until 2020 are being discussed now. Recently, a new dispersal vector that has important implications for the spread of H. sosnowskyi seeds is the use of lands infested with H. sosnowskyi as hayfields. As exemplified by the Shakhovskaya urban district, it is shown that the measures taken to provide chemical treatment of roadside areas and thickets accessible for transport have already yielded tangible results. The paper is concerned with the trends in H. sosnowskyi ranges changing as a result of dispersal into forests, hard-to-reach old-fallow meadows, and river floodplains, with areas that are unlikely to be cultivated and are a continuous source for further dispersal.

Assessment of the resistance of highly ornamental plants of autochthonous flora to increased concentrations of pollutants

Aim. The purpose of the work is to assess the resistance of highly decorative plants of the native flora to a high level of salinity and the content of zinc, lead and cadmium for landscaping urban and roadside areas. Methods. We used seed germination under laboratory conditions with soaking in solutions of sodium chloride and salts of zinc, lead and cadmium, as well as the method of in vitro cell selection to increase resistance to salinity of Verbascum nigrum L. Results. The resistance of 7 species of highly decorative plants, representatives of the autochthonous flora of Belarus, to increasing concentrations of lead, zinc and cadmium salts was assessed. Germination capacity, length and morphology of roots, length of seedlings during germination of seeds of Betonica officinalis L., Centaurea jacea L., Verbascum nigrum, Knautia arvensis (L.) Coult., Galium verum L., Anthemis tinctoria L., Anthemis arvensis L., Viscaria vulgaris Bernh., Achillea millefolium L. in the presence of sodium chloride are shown. It has been shown that the in vitro cell selection method is promising for the selection of resistant lines of Verbascum nigrum. Conclusions. The presence of lead, zinc and cadmium salts had a significant effect on the average length of the root, hypocotyl, and cotyledonous leaves, as well as the germination capacity of highly decorative species of autochthonous flora. The most resistant to salinity were yarrow (Achillea millefolium), brown knapweed (Centaurea jacea) and black mullein (Verbascum nigrum). Lines of Verbascum nigrum, capable of growing in vitro at a sodium chloride concentration of 5 g/L, were selected. Keywords: salinity, heavy metals, seed germination, highly decorative species.

Concentration of the PM2.5 according to the sampling areas associated with the concentration of heavy metals and anions in Penang

Particulate matter (PM) was identified as the main air pollutants in Malaysia which directly impose a treat to human health and understanding this pollutant is also crucial for its mitigation and control. This study aims to determine and characterize the PM2.5 with the influence of meteorological parameters. The PM2.5 samples were collected at Perai, Nibong Tebal and highway of Penang Bridge represented the industrial, residential, and roadside areas of Mainland Penang, respectively. The descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to understand the variations of PM2.5 concentration on the study areas, while its relationship with meteorological parameters were tested using Pearson correlation. Eleven heavy metals and three anions were determined using mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Ion Chromatography, respectively. Results showed that the mean concentration of PM2.5 are 10.88 ?g/m³, 31.96 ?g/m³, and 39.35 g/m³ for residential area, industrial area, and roadside, respectively. The results revealed that mean concentrations of PM2.5 (39.35 ?g/m³) in the roadside are significantly higher than NAAQG 24-h average of 35 ?g/m³. Result also suggested that meteorological parameters were lest significant in controlling the PM2.5 concentrations as only the air pressure was found to be significant with the value of correlation coefficient of 0.476. The major components such as SO42-, K and Na account for about 70-90% of the PM2.5.

Ecological and human health risks assessment of some polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in surface soils of central and southern parts of city of Tehran, Iran.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic hazards of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in topsoil across business districts, public green space, cultural and educational areas, and roadside and residential areas in city of Tehran, in 2019. A total of 30 surface urban soil specimens were collected and after preparing them in the laboratory, PCBs contents were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Based on the results of data analyses, the median concentrations of PCB18, PCB28, PCB 29, PCB 31, PCB 44, PCB 52, PCB 101, PCB 138, PCB 141, PCB 149, PCB 153, PCB 189 and PCB 194, were found to be 6.81, 0.759, 0.005, 1.75, 2.51, 0.059, 2.31, 3.76, 5.82, 0.599, 0.408, 0.008 and 0.008µg/kg, respectively. Also, the overall daily PCBs intakes via soil ingestion, inhalation and skin contact were 5.48E-04, 1.19E + 00 and 1.62E-04µg/kg, respectively. Thus it was decided that the inhalation of soil could be the main pathway of exposure to PCBs, and that, based on the carcinogenic risk outcomes, children would be more at risk of cancer than adults would. In general, considering that among the studied urban spaces, the contents of PCBs in public green spaces were more than their rates in other areas, and considering that children normally play in the green areas are, it is recommended that special attention be paid to these areas in controlling and removing pollution caused by PCBs in urban areas.

PERGESERAN MAKNA MITOS NILAI SPIRITUAL KEBUDAYAAN ONDEL-ONDEL PADA KEPERCAYAAN MASYARAKAT BETAWI ZAMAN DAHULU DAN ZAMAN SEKARANG

Ondel-ondel is a cultural performance of the Betawi people passed down from generation to generation. However, the problem that occurs is that along with the development of the era, ondel-ondel is no longer a sacred object and is no longer used for ritual offerings and the loss of cultural values of the ancestors. The purpose of making this journal is to find out the shift in the meaning of the ondel-ondel cultural myth to the beliefs of the people of Jakarta. The method used in this study uses a qualitative approach and data collection techniques use interview techniques, observation and analysis of various journals or literature studies. The subject of this research was conducted on 4 people, namely a number of the Jakarta community about their views on the shift in the meaning of the myth of ondel-ondel art. In this day and age, ondel-ondel shows are very easy to find, especially on roadside areas in Jakarta. Unlike the old days, ondel-ondel was only displayed when there were certain events such as a traditional Betawi wedding. The result of this research is that there are differences and shifts in the meaning of ondel-ondel cultural myths. In ancient times ondel-ondel was only displayed during certain events. And people in ancient times tend to still believe in the existing ondel-ondel cultural myths. Unlike the current era, ondel-ondel is used as a means of getting money. The benefit of this research is to find out what values have been lost from previous cultures and be able to take good positive values taught in previous cultures without taking the negative values found in the past culture. It is enough to make historical knowledge to remember existing history. This study concludes that there has been a shift in meaning in the myth of ondel-ondel culture and sadly it occurs due to the pressure of economic factors.

CITYWIDE ESTIMATION OF PARKING SPACE USING AERIAL IMAGERY AND OSM DATA FUSION WITH DEEP LEARNING AND FINE-GRAINED ANNOTATION

Abstract. Emerging traffic management technologies, smart parking applications, together with transport researchers and urban planners are interested in fine-grained data on parking space in cities. However, there are no standardized, complete and up-to-date databases for many urban areas. Moreover, manual data collection is expensive and time-consuming. Aerial imagery of entire cities can be used to inventory not only publicly accessible and dedicated parking lots, but also roadside parking areas and those on private property. For a realistic estimation of the total parking space, the observed use of multi-functional traffic areas is taken into account by segmenting not only parking areas but also roads according to their purpose. In this paper, different U-Net based architectures are tested for detecting all these types of visible traffic areas. A new large-scale, high-quality dataset of manual annotations is used in combination with selected contextual information from OpenStreetMap (OSM) to depict the actual use as parking space. Our models achieve a good performance on parking area segmentation, and we show the significant impact of OSM data fusion in deep neural networks on the simultaneous extraction of multiple traffic areas compared to using aerial imagery alone.

Floristic composition in the ruderal areas of Southeast Anatolia, Turkey

Survey on the floral diversity is an important activity to evaluate the existing flora. This study was carried out from 2018 to 2020 to investigate the flora existing in the roadside and ruderal areas between Şanlıurfa and Bozova, nearby Euphrates river. A total of 200 taxa belonging to 138 genera and 41 families were determined. 9 of these taxa are endemic to Turkey. Among the plants identified, there are 5 geophytes, 1 parasite and 14 cultivated plants. The families with the most taxa are Fabaceae (47), Asteraceae (30), Lamiaceae (15), Poaceae (13) and Brassicaceae (7). The genera with the dominant taxa are; Astragalus (7), Medicago (7), Trigonella (7), Vicia (5) and Trifolium (5). In distribution of plants in the study area, the Irano-Turanian elements (38%, 75 taxa) ranks first, Mediterranean elements second (15%, 30 taxa) and Euro-Siberian elements third (1%, 3). The botanical- and vernacular names and habit categories of the recorded plant taxa are cited systematically. Threats to these plants and possible conservation strategies are also discussed briefly.
 Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 28(1): 241-256, 2021 (June)

An annotated checklist of amphibians in and around Dampa Tiger Reserve, Mizoram, India

Amphibians are an integral part of the ecosystem and act as an ecological indicator. As several species are added to the list of threatened species every year due to loss of habitat, it is important to understand the role of unmanaged landscape for sustenance of amphibian diversity. In this study, 28 amphibian species were recorded from different modified habitat including 19 new records for Dampa Tiger Reserve (DTR) and its surrounding areas. Further, six species, Amolops indoburmanensis, Limnonectes khasianus, Microhyla mukhlesuri, M. mymensinghensis, Raorchestes rezakhani, and Sylvirana lacrima are new distribution records for the state of Mizoram and out of these, two species, Raorchestes rezakhani and Sylvirana lacrima, are new country records for India. Amongst the recorded species, four species are Data Deficient, two Vulnerable, 14 Least Concern, and eight species are not assessed as per the IUCN Red List. Within the core and buffer areas of DTR, we found that natural perennial stream, puddles, canals, natural ponds, fish ponds, roadside, primary forest, secondary forest, paddy fields, and human settlement areas are excellent microhabitats for amphibian population and need to be conserved for their rich ecological niches.

Health risk assessment of trace element in the ambient air along the roadside in Dhanbad, India

Trace elements associated with ambient air dust particles have been investigated to assess future non-cancer toxic risk in children and adults. To investigate the trace elements, samples were collected with Respirable Dust Sampler at various locations in Dhanbad, India, during post-monsoon 2016, winter 2017, and summer 2017. Monitoring locations were selected along the roadside with heavy traffic load (Shramik Chowk), moderate-to-low traffic load (Dhaiya Gate), and low traffic load with small-scale industries (Govindpur Tata Motors). Further, the health risk caused due to the exposure of the trace elements was determined with the help of hazard quotient and hazard index. The hazard index value of Pb for children due to multi-pathway exposure was found to be > 1 in winter 2017 at all monitoring locations and in summer 2017 at Shramik Chowk and Govindpur Tata Motors will cause future non-cancer toxic risk in children. The hazard index value of Pb for children due to multi-pathway exposure was found to be > 1 in winter 2017 at all monitoring locations. The same in summer 2017 at Shramik Chowk and Govindpur Tata Motors would pose future non-cancer toxic risk in children. For adults, the values of hazard index for the investigated trace elements suggest that it would not cause future non-cancer toxic risk in them. Thus, understanding the presence of trace elements in the ambient air around roadside areas and its health risks is of utmost importance in view of implications for protective measures.

Using Road Surveys and N-Mixture Models to Estimate the Abundance of a Cryptic Lizard Species

The cryptic behavior and appearance of some reptile species lead to difficulty in conducting effective surveys to estimate abundance. As an example, Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma spp.) often have a pattern of camouflage on the dorsum and they sometimes become motionless upon the approach of a human observer. However, they also venture onto roads to thermoregulate. When basking on a road surface, they are much easier to visually detect; hence, road-cruising surveys are an effective technique for surveying. We designed and implemented a survey protocol for a population of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) at the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) in south Texas, USA. The protocol involved repeatedly driving a continuous 64-km survey route while visually scanning for lizards. Over the course of 17 survey days in summer 2015, we obtained 167 observations of lizards. To estimate lizard density, we used N-mixture models on datasets in which the route was divided into either 39, 77, or 117 segments (survey units) with lengths of 1,651, 836, and 550 m, respectively. Density estimates ranged from one to six lizards per 10 ha, depending on how the route was subdivided into segments and assumptions about the amount of roadside area surveyed. The density estimates were extrapolated to an estimated population size of 1,000–2,800 Texas Horned Lizards at the CWMA. Because this is a species of conservation concern, populations should be monitored within protected areas and perhaps elsewhere in landscapes where road surveying is possible.

The Potential Contribution of VOCs on Ambient Air Odor

In order to evaluate the potential contribution of VOCs on ambient air odor in roadside, urban, suburban and mountainous environments, the odor activity values (OAVs) of 66 VOCs were calculated using the environmental concentrations and the odor detection threshold values. The OAVs were less than one, but were not small, considering previous reports on odor concentrations in urban ambient air. The OAVs from roadside and urban areas were nearly identical, indicating that automobile exhaust gas does not have an important role in the potential odor. Acetaldehyde, which is directly emitted from anthropogenic sources and is also formed as a byproduct of photochemical reactions in the air, appears to be the most important substance contributing to the potential odor in each area. We also found that the contribution of biogenic VOCs was large in mountainous regions. In order to determine more precise OAVs, further work is required to generate more reliable odor detection threshold values.

Source characterization and health risks of BTEX in indoor/outdoor air during winters at a terai precinct of North India.

BTEX are the consistently found air contaminants in indoor and outdoor environments. In order to investigate the exposure levels of BTEX, the indoor and outdoor air was analyzed during winter season at homes located at four selected sites of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, which comprised residential, roadside, industrial and agricultural areas. BTEX were sampled with a low-flow pump (SKC model 220). Samples were extracted with CS2 and the aromatic fraction was subjected to GC-FID. Mean indoor concentration of BTEX was highest at the agricultural (70.9µgm-3) followed by industrial (30.0µgm-3), roadside (17.5µgm-3) and residential site (11.8µgm-3). At outdoor locations, the mean BTEX levels were highest at the roadside (22.0µgm-3) followed by industrial (18.7µgm-3), agricultural (11.0µgm-3) and residential site (9.1µgm-3). The I/O ratios were greater than 1 at all the sites except roadside site, where I/O ratios for toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene were less than unity. Poor correlation between indoor and outdoor levels at each site further indicated the dominance of indoor sources. Factor analysis followed by one-way analysis of variance depicts that the presence of BTEX compounds at all the sites indicate a mixture of vehicular and combustion activities. For benzene, the ILTCR values exceeded the safe levels, whereas ethylbenzene was nearby to the recommended level 1 × 10-6. The HQ values were above unity for agricultural (indoors) and industrial (outdoors) as an exception to all the other sites which indicted the value below unity.