Pollution Characteristics and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Street Dust from a Typical Industrial Zone in Wuhan City, Central China

Hong Chen; Changlin Zhan; Shan Liu; Jiaquan Zhang; Hongxia Liu; Ziguo Liu; Ting Liu; Xianli Liu; Wensheng Xiao

doi:10.3390/ijerph191710970

Pollution Characteristics and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Street Dust from a Typical Industrial Zone in Wuhan City, Central China

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 2;19(17):10970. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191710970.

Authors

Hong Chen^{1

2

3}, Changlin Zhan^{1

2

4}, Shan Liu^{1

2}, Jiaquan Zhang^{1

2}, Hongxia Liu^{1

2}, Ziguo Liu^{1

2}, Ting Liu^{1

2}, Xianli Liu^{1

2}, Wensheng Xiao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi 435003, China.
² Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi 435003, China.
³ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the pollution levels, sources, and human health risks of heavy metals in street dust from a typical industrial district in Wuhan City, Central China. In total, 47 street dust samples were collected from the major traffic arteries and streets around Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Company (WISC) in Qingshan District, Wuhan. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Cd) in street dust were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results indicated that the mean concentrations of Zn (249.71 mg/kg), Cu (51.15 mg/kg), and Cd (0.86 mg/kg) in street dust were higher than their corresponding soil background values in Hubei Province. Heavy metal enrichment is closely related to urban transportation and industrial production. The pollution level of heavy metals in street dust was assessed using the geo-accumulation method (I_geo) and potential ecological risk assessment (PERI). Based on the I_geo value, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni showed no pollution, Zn and Cu showed light to moderate contamination, and Cd showed moderate contamination. The PERI values of heavy metals in street dust ranged between 76.70 and 7027.28, which represents a medium to high potential ecological risk. Principal component analysis showed that the sources of heavy metals in street dust were mainly influenced by anthropogenic activities. Among the studied metals, Cu, Cr, Zn, Fe, and Mn mainly come from industrial processes, while Ni and Cd come from traffic exhaust. The non-carcinogenic risk indexes of heavy metals for children and adults are ranked as Cr > Cu > Ni > Cd > Zn. The health risks to children through the different exposure pathways are higher than those for adults. Hand-to-mouth intake is the riskiest exposure pathway for non-carcinogenic risk. In addition, Cr, Ni, and Cd do not pose a carcinogenic risk for the residents.

Keywords: critical source; health risk assessment; heavy metal; pollution; street dust.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cadmium / analysis
Carcinogens / analysis
Child
China
Cities
Dust* / analysis
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Humans
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Urbanization

Substances

Carcinogens
Dust
Metals, Heavy
Cadmium

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 41603117. This research was funded by the Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, grant number SKLLQG1935. This research was funded by the Key Project of Hubei Polytechnic University, grant number 19XJK01Z.