Assessment of pollutant elements content in ambient air dust of Khuzestan province

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the distribution of natural and anthropogenic pollutants and the enrichment of elements in air dust of Khuzestan province following the dust events. Dust samples were collected from nine regions including, Abadan, Ahvaz, Hoveyzeh, Susangerd, Shush, Omidieh, Ramhormoz, and Mahshahr. The INAA technique measured the concentration of elements. Using the results of PMF modeling and investigation of obtained factors for samples, a suitable reference element with the most negligible influence from pollutant sources was selected and used for EF calculations. The results showed very large enrichments with EF> 20 for elements such as Zn, Se, Br in Susangerd, Ahvaz, and Abadan. The concentrations of Fe, Al, and Mg in some areas of the province were much higher than LC50. The enrichment factors and the correlations between the elements in the samples of various regions showed their dependence on local pollutant sources.