Health risk assessment and morphometric study of metal bounded ultrafine aerosol in indo-gangetic plain, India

Traffic activities and road dust are major contributors to the release of metals in ambient air which further cause serious health risks by entering the body. This study examined size-segregated PM concentration trends in rural site (Iradatnagar) Risk assessement and disease estimation was done by AirQ + and USEPA Methodology. PM_2.5-1.0 levels were 294.64 µg/m³ in summer and 78.81 µg/m³ was found in monsoon, while PM_1.0-0.5 measured 204.53 µg/m³ in summer and 66.42 µg/m³ in monsoon, respectively. Al, Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Cu, and Zn were analyzed. Total metal concentration was found to be 32.96 µg/m³ in summer and 12.27 µg/m³ in monsoon for PM_2.5−1.0, while for PM_1.0−0.5 it was found as 30.42 µg/m³ and 10.56 µg/m³ in summer and monsson respectively. According to the findings, the concentration of metals was higher in summer. Metal BI ranged from 5.12 to 6.46% (PM2.5-1.0) and 4.56–7.05% (PM1.0-0.5). HQ outcomes Cr(2.78, 9.59E-02), Ni(2.73, 6.85E-01), Al(1.43, 4.79E-01), and Mn(0.19, 1.92E-01) were observed for PM_2.5−1.0 in the summer and monsoon seasons respectively. HQ outcomes Cr(3.16, 9.59E-02), Ni(0.68, 6.85E-01), Al(1.55, 5.56E-01), and Mn(0.76, 1.92E-01) were identified for PM_1.0−0.5 in summer, and monsoon seasons. HQ was observed higher for PM_1.0−0.5 (1.95) size fractions compared to PM_2.5−1.0 (1.30). ELCR value for Cr(VI) was found higher for adult in comparison with child whereas the trend followed as as Cr(VI) (0.0007), (0.0002) > Pb (3.52E-06)(1.05E-06) > Ni (1.31E-06)(3.94E-07). Adult values were found to be greater (0.0002) than child values (7.10E-05). The Cancerous risk mean value found two times higher than the permissible limit (1 × 10^− 6).