title: Lead in Chinese villager house dust: Geographical variation and influencing factors.
abstract: House dust has been recognized as an important contributor to Pb exposure of children. Here we conducted a comprehensive study to investigate geographical variation of Pb in Chinese villager house dust. The influences of outdoor soil Pb concentrations, dates of construction, house decoration materials, heating types, and site specific pollution on Pb concentrations in house dust were evaluated. The concentrations of Pb in 477 house dust samples collected from twenty eight areas throughout China varied from 12 to 2510 mg/kg, with a median concentration of 42 mg/kg. The median Pb concentrations in different geographical areas ranged from 16 (Zhangjiakou, Hebei) to 195 mg/kg (Loudi, Hunan). No correlations were found between the house dust Pb concentrations and the age of houses, as well as house decoration materials. Whereas outdoor soil, coal combustion, and site specific pollution may be potential Pb sources. Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that elemental compositions of the house dust were controlled by both anthropogenic and geogenic sources. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the Pb bearing particles in the house dust were also studied.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China; School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. Electronic address: bixy@cug.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jinling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration CAGS, Langfang 065000, China.
authors.forename: Zhixuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Wenlin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D005843:Geography; D006361:Heating; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D012987:Soil; D007854:Lead
keywords: Geographical distribution; House dust; Pb source; Rural area