Heavy metal concentrations in particle size fractions from street dust of Murcia (Spain) as the basis for risk assessment

Abstract

Street dust has been sampled from six different types of land use of the city of Murcia (Spain). The samples were fractionated into eleven particle size fractions (<2, 2-10, 10-20, 20-50, 50-75, 75-106, 106-150, 150-180, 180-425, 425-850 μm and 850-2000 μm) and analyzed for Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. The concentrations of these four potentially toxic metals were assessed, as well as the effect of particle size on their distribution. A severe enrichment of all metals was observed for all land-uses (industrial, suburban, urban and highways), with the concentration of all metals affected by the type of land-use. Coarse and fine particles in all cases showed concentrations of metals higher than those found in undisturbed areas. However, the results indicated a preferential partitioning of metals in fine particle size fractions in all cases, following a logarithmic distribution. The accumulation in the fine fractions was higher when the metals had an anthropogenic origin. The strong overrepresentation of metals in particles <10 μm indicates that if the finest fractions are removed by a vacuum-assisted dry sweeper or a regenerative-air sweeper the risk of metal dispersion and its consequent risk for humans will be highly reduced. Therefore, we recommend that risk assessment programs include monitoring of metal concentrations in dust where each land-use is separately evaluated. The finest particle fractions should be examined explicitly in order to apply the most efficient measures for reducing the risk of inhalation and ingestion of dust for humans and risk for the environment.

Physicochemical Properties of Road Dust in Moscow

“…The physicochemical properties analyzed (Tables 1, 2), in general, fall into the range of values comparable to what has been found in other cities of the world where pH, C оrg content and EC varied between 7-9, 1-17%, and 100-2800 μS/cm, respectively (Wang and Qin 2007;Al-Khashman 2007;Ladonin and Plyaskina 2009;Acosta et al 2011;Yisa et al 2011;Hu et al 2011;Sutherland et al 2012).…”

“…Extensive literature is devoted to elemental composition of road dust; however, the physicochemical properties inherited from its different components have been studied to a much lesser extent, although they are the ones that determine the potential of the dust to fix pollutants. Usually, such parameters as pH, organic carbon content (C оrg ), electrical conductivity (EC), and particle size distribution are evaluated (Wang and Q in , 2007;Al-Khashman 2007;Hu et al 2011;Acosta et al 2011). The studies of atmospheric dust focus on particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or smaller (PM 10 ).…”

Determination and Contamination Assessment of Heavy Metals in Street Dust from Different Types of Land-Use in Kathmandu District, Nepal

“…This is consistent with the findings of Herath et al (2013) who also reported high organic matter content in Colombo metropolitan region due waste disposal, leakage of lubricants and vehicle oil. Further, the present study is also in agreement with the work of Karmacharya and Shakya (2012) and Acosta et al (2011) who reported similar results in properties of street dust.…”

“…The observed levels of difference in the present study were most likely due to variation in the sources of metals. The present results are comparable with the work of Acosta et al (2011) who reported higher concentration of Zn (205 mg/kg) in dust of industrial area and Pb (85 mg/kg) in highways. Besides, the results are supported by Ambade (2012) as well found higher concentration of Zn in dust of industrial environment of Bhilai city, India.…”

Chemical and biological methods to evaluate the availability of heavy metals in soils of the Siena urban area (Italy)

“…Imperato et al, 2003;Acosta et al, 2011;Sun et al, 2010). To our knowledge, few studies have focused on the fractionation and mobility of heavy metals in contaminated urban soils (Burt et al, 2014;Acosta et al, 2015;Gu et al, 2016), and even less their availability in soil and transfer to earthworms (Pizl and Josens, 1995;Kennette et al, 2002;Nannoni et al, 2011).…”