title: Taxonomy of factors which influence heavy metal build-up on urban road surfaces.
abstract: Heavy metals build-up on urban road surfaces is a complex process and influenced by a diverse range of factors. Although numerous research studies have been conducted in the area of heavy metals build-up, limited research has been undertaken to rank these factors in terms of their influence on the build-up process. This results in limitations in the identification of the most critical factor/s for accurately estimating heavy metal loads and for designing effective stormwater treatment measures. The research study undertook an in-depth analysis of the factors which influence heavy metals build-up based on data generated from a number of different geographical locations around the world. Traffic volume was found to be the highest ranked factor in terms of influencing heavy metals build-up while land use was ranked the second. Proximity to arterial roads, antecedent dry days and road surface roughness has a relatively lower ranking. Furthermore, the study outcomes advances the conceptual understanding of heavy metals build-up based on the finding that with increasing traffic volume, total heavy metal build-up load increases while the variability decreases. The outcomes from this research study are expected to contribute to more accurate estimation of heavy metals build-up loads leading to more effective stormwater treatment design.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: liuan@szu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, 20400 Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Chandima
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gunawardana
authors.affiliation: Logan City Council, P.O. Box 3226, Logan City DC., Qld 4114, Australia.
authors.forename: Janaka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gunawardena
authors.affiliation: Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), P.O. Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Prasanna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Egodawatta
authors.affiliation: Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), P.O. Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Godwin A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ayoko
authors.affiliation: Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), P.O. Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Ashantha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goonetilleke
keywords: Heavy metals; Multivariate analysis; Stormwater pollutant processes; Stormwater quality; Traffic volume