Assessment of Contamination Status, Source Apportionment, and Ecological and Health Risk of Heavy Metals in Road Dust: A Case Study in Masjed Soleyman City, Khuzestan, Iran.

Abstract

Heavy metals (HMs) pollution in road dust has an adverse effect on human health and the environment. This study evaluates the pollution level with the different geochemical indices and the ecological and health risks of HMs pollution in the road dust of Masjed Soleyman city, Khuzestan province, Iran. The samples were collected from the main streets with different land uses of industrial, commercial, residential, and heavy traffic. The most minerals identified in dust samples were crystalline silicate and carbonate minerals. Aluminum (Al: 12730 mg/kg), iron (Fe: 10295 mg/kg), manganese (Mn: 173.25 mg/kg), and barium (Ba: 149.31 mg/kg) had the highest mean concentrations of all the land uses. Based on the geo-accumulation index (I_geo), road dust in Masjed Soleyman city was moderately to heavily contaminated with HMs such as antimony (Sb) and copper (Cu) and they were mostly from anthropogenic sources. According to the contamination indices, different classes of HMs contamination in road dust were observed. The non-carcinogenic hazard index was less than one (HI < 1) in both children and adults through all exposure pathways. The total cancer risk (TCR) indicates a possible carcinogenic risk for children. The highest value of the ecological risk index for dust samples was in the industrial area (ERI = 222.23). The cluster analysis (CA) results were consistent with the results of the correlation analysis and PCA, indicating similar sources of some HMs. Considering the health risk for children and the presence of HMs in dust samples, it is necessary to make decisions in mitigating potential risks associated with HMs pollution.