Accumulation, sources, and health risks of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in road dust from heavily industrialized, urban and rural areas in southern Iran

Javid Karamianpour; Hossein Arfaeinia; Dariush Ranjbar Vakilabadi; Bahman Ramavandi; Sina Dobaradaran; Mehdi Fazlzadeh; Zahra Torkshavand; Sara Banafshehafshan; Hanyeh Shekarizadeh; Sami Ahmadi; Ahmad Badeenezhad

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23129

Accumulation, sources, and health risks of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in road dust from heavily industrialized, urban and rural areas in southern Iran

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 1;9(12):e23129. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23129. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
² Systems Environmental Health and Energy Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
³ Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
⁴ Lung Diseases Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
⁵ Environmental and Occupational Health Research Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
⁶ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁷ Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁸ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Behbahan University of Medical Sciences, Behbahan, Iran.

Abstract

In this research, a total of 51 road dust samples were collected from three districts (Asaluyeh, Bushehr, and Goshoui) in the south of Iran from April to June 2022 and analyzed for the concentration of 7 phthalic acid esters (PAEs) compounds. Asaluyeh was considered as an industrial area (near gas and petrochemical industries), Bushehr as an urban area, and Goshoui as a rural area (far from pollution sources). The PAEs concentration of the street dust samples was determined using a mass detection gas chromatography (GC/MS). The mean ± SD levels of ƩPAEs in samples from industrial, urban, and rural sources were 56.9 ± 11.5, 18.3 ± 9.64, and 5.68 ± 1.85 μg/g, respectively. The mean concentration levels of ƩPAEs was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in samples from the industrial area than urban and rural areas. The mean levels of di(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in industrial, urban, and rural areas were 20.3 ± 8.76, 4.59 ± 1.71, and 2.35 ± 0.98 μg/g, respectively. The results of the PCA analysis indicate that the likely major sources of PAEs in the road dust in the studied areas are the application of various plasticizers in industry, solvents, chemical fertilizers, waste disposal, wastewater (e.g., agricultural, domestic, and industrial), and the use of plastic films and plastic-based irrigation pipes in greenhouses. As well as, it was found that the non-cancer risk of exposure to dust-bound PAEs was higher for children than for adults. These values were <1 for both age groups (children and adults) and the exposure of inhabitants to PAEs in road dust did not pose a notable non-cancer risk. The cancer risk from exposure to DEHP in road dust was below the standard range of 10^-6 in all three areas. Further studies that consider different routes of exposure to these contaminants are needed for an accurate risk assessment. Moreover, since higher PAEs level was found in industrial area, decision-makers should adopt strict strategies to control the discharging of pollution from industries to the environment and human societies.

Keywords: Health risk; Iran; Phthalate acid esters; Possible sources; Street dust.