Sub-type source profiles of fine particles for fugitive dust and accumulative health risks of heavy metals: a case study in a fast-developing city of China

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2020-05, Vol.27 (14), p.16554-16573
• Main Authors: Wu, Fangqi, Kong, Shaofei, Yan, Qin, Wang, Wei, Liu, Haibiao, Wu, Jian, Zheng, Huang, Zheng, Shurui, Cheng, Yi, Niu, Zhenzhen, Liu, Dantong, Qi, Shihua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Ammonia; Anions; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Burning; Cadmium; Carcinogens; Cations; Chemical analysis; Chemical composition; Cluster analysis; Construction sites; Dust; Dust collectors; Dust control; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Heavy metals; Industrial areas; Ingestion; Metallurgy; Motor vehicles; Ozone; Particulate matter; Population density; Research Article; Road construction; Roads; Soil pollution; Soils; Spatial analysis; Vehicle emissions; Waste Water Technology; Water analysis; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-08136-1

Sub-type source profiles for atmospheric fine particle (PM 2.5 ) were still scare in China, which limited the accurate source identification of it. Fugitive dust (including road dust, soil dust, resuspended dust, and construction dust, etc.) was one type of the most important contributors to PM 2.5 and its associated toxic metals held potential threaten to human health. The chemical compositions, sources, and health risks of sub-type fugitive dust deserved an investigation for further accurate control of particles and alleviating human health risks. A total of sixty-five fugitive dust samples were collected in Suzhou, a fast-developing city in southern China, including eleven sub-types of road dust (overpass, main street, collector street, and ordinary street), soil dust (farmland and tree lawn), resuspended dust (site types were corresponding to those of road dust), and construction dust (large construction sites). Chemical analysis of water-soluble ions, elements, and carbonaceous components was carried out to establish the sub-type source profiles of PM 2.5 for fugitive dust. Results showed that crustal elements were the most abundant components of fugitive dust, and soil dust was less polluted by anthropogenic activities. High contents of OC and low contents of EC were found in all the eleven types of dust. Equivalent ratios of anions and cations indicated that the fugitive dust was obviously alkaline. The contents of OC and EC in the four types of road dust were higher than those in other types of dust, while there existed differences among the sub-types of road dust. The NO 3 − /SO 4 2− ratios (0.03–0.09) implied that coal-burning and motor vehicle emission co-existed in Suzhou. Coefficient divergence (CD) values of eleven sub-type source profiles showed that there were certain differences among them, which suggested the possibility of sub-type source identification. Cluster analysis indicated the heavy metals in fugitive dust were mainly from crustal materials, metallurgical manufacturing, vehicle emissions, and industrial activities. The enrichment degree of heavy metals for the four types of road dust was also inconsistent. Heavy metals in road dust and soil dust posed a non-carcinogenic risk to children through direct ingestion, and the non-carcinogenic risk of direct intake of heavy metals was much higher than that of respiratory and skin contact. It was found that the accumulative health risks of heavy metals were higher in densely populated ar