title: Relationships between heavy metal concentrations in roadside topsoil and distance to road edge based on field observations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China.
abstract: This study investigated the spatial distribution of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) in roadside topsoil in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and evaluated the potential environmental risks of these roadside heavy metals due to traffic emissions. A total of 120 topsoil samples were collected along five road segments in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The nonlinear regression method was used to formulize the relationship between the metal concentrations in roadside soils and roadside distance. The Hakanson potential ecological risk index method was applied to assess the degrees of heavy metal contaminations. The regression results showed that both of the heavy metals' concentrations and their ecological risk indices decreased exponentially with the increase of roadside distance. The large R square values of the regression models indicate that the exponential regression method can suitably describe the relationship between heavy metal accumulation and roadside distance. For the entire study region, there was a moderate level of potential ecological risk within a 10 m roadside distance. However, Cd was the only prominent heavy metal which posed potential hazard to the local soil ecosystem. Overall, the rank of risk contribution to the local environments among the eight heavy metals was Cd > As > Ni > Pb > Cu > Co > Zn > Cr. Considering that Cd is a more hazardous heavy metal than other elements for public health, the local government should pay special attention to this traffic-related environmental issue.
authors: MOE Key Laboratory for Urban Transportation Complex Systems Theory and Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China. xdyan@bjtu.edu.cn
authors: Xuedong
authors: X
authors: Yan
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Gao
authors: Fan
authors: F
authors: Zhang
authors: Chen
authors: C
authors: Zeng
authors: Wang
authors: W
authors: Xiang
authors: Man
authors: M
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D001151:Arsenic