title: Ecological and human health hazards of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in road dust of Isfahan metropolis, Iran.
abstract: This study investigates trace elements and PAHs content in road dust of Isfahan metropolis, central Iran. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn are 22.15, 2.14, 182.26, 66.63, 393.33, 6.95 and 707.19 mg kg(-1), respectively. When compared with upper continental crust, the samples generally display elevated trace element concentrations, except for Co and Cr. The decreasing trend of calculated enrichment factors (EFs) is Cd>Pb>Sb>Zn>Cu>As>Ni>Cr>Co. Calculated potential ecological risk reveals that among the analyzed metals, Cd and Pb, have a higher potential ecological risk. Statistically, two identified main sources of trace elements include road traffic emissions and resuspension of soil particles. As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn in Isfahan road dust are strongly influenced by anthropogenic activity, mainly traffic emissions, while Co, Cr and Ni originate from resuspension of soil natural parent particles. The sum of 13 major PAHs (∑13PAHs) mass concentration ranges from 184.64 to 3221.72 μg kg(-1) with the mean being 1074.58 μg kg(-1). PAHs sources are identified using PCA analysis. It is demonstrated that the PAHs in Isfahan road dust are mainly derived from traffic emission, coal combustion and petroleum. Toxic equivalent concentrations (TEQs) of PAHs in the road dust ranges between 25.021 μg kg(-1) and 230.893 μg kg(-1). High correlation coefficients (r(2)=0.909 and 0.822, p<0.01) between Benzo[a]pyrene, Benzo[b+k]fluoranthene and toxicity equivalent concentrations of road dust indicate that Benzo[a]pyrene and Benzo[b+k]fluoranthenes are major TEQ contributors. The total incremental life time cancer risk (ILCR) of exposure to PAHs from Isfahan metropolis urban dust is 4.85 × 10(-4) for adult and 5.02 × 10(-4) for children. Estimated results of ILCR indicate that Isfahan residents are potentially exposed to high cancer risk via both dust ingestion and dermal contact.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71454, Iran. Electronic address: Naghmeh.Soltani@shirazu.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Naghmeh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soltani
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71454, Iran.
authors.forename: Behnam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Keshavarzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71454, Iran.
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, College of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71454, Iran.
authors.forename: Tahereh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tavakol
authors.affiliation: Khuzestan Environmental Protection Office, Khuzestan, Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmad Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Lahijanzadeh
authors.affiliation: Environmental Technology Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; School of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Nemat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jaafarzadeh
authors.affiliation: Isfahan Environmental Protection Office, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kermani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002947:Cities; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Heavy metal; Isfahan; PAHs; Road dust