Pollution and Health Risk Assessments of Potentially Toxic Elements in the Fine-Grained Particles (10–63 µm and <10 µm) in Road Dust from Apia City, Samoa

Type Article
Date 2022-11
Language English
Author(s) Jeong HyeryeongORCID1, 2, Ra KongtaeORCID2, 3
Affiliation(s) 1 : Ifremer, Département Ressources Biologiques et Environnement (RBE), Unité Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes Marins (CCEM), F-44000 Nantes, France
2 : Marine Environmental Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), Busan 49111, Korea
3 : Department of Ocean Science (Oceanography), KIOST School, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Korea
Source Toxics (2305-6304) (MDPI AG), 2022-11 , Vol. 10 , N. 11 , P. 683 (12p.)
DOI 10.3390/toxics10110683
WOS© Times Cited 4
Note This article belongs to the Special Issue Potentially Toxic Elements Pollution in Urban and Suburban Environments
Keyword(s) potentially toxic elements, source identification, risk assessment, Samoa
Abstract

Fine road dust is a major source of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution in urban environments, which adversely affects the atmospheric environment and public health. Two different sizes (10–63 and <10 μm) were separated from road dust collected from Apia City, Samoa, and 10 PTEs were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Fine road dust (<10 μm) had 1.2–2.3 times higher levels of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) than 10–63 μm particles. The enrichment factor (EF) value of Sb was the highest among PTEs, and reflected significant contamination. Cu, Zn, and Pb in road dust were also present at moderate to significant levels. Chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni) in road dust were mainly of natural origins, while Cu, Zn, Sb, and Pb were due to traffic activity. The levels of PTEs in road dust in Samoa are lower than in highly urbanized cities, and the exposure of residents in Samoa to PTEs in road dust does not pose a noncarcinogenic health risk. Further studies of the effects of PTEs contamination in road dust on the atmosphere and living organisms are needed.

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