Health implications, distribution and source apportionment of heavy metals in road deposited dust of Jammu City in northern India

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2022-12, Vol.308, p.136475-136475, Article 136475
• Main Authors: Gorka, Ruby, Kumar, Rakesh, Yadav, Sudesh, Verma, Anju
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ecological risk; Health risk; Heavy metals; Road deposited dust
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136475

Road deposited dust (RDD) is an important indicators of heavy metal contamination in urban areas. In this study, we measured eight heavy metals (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb) in RDD collected from 34 different locations in Jammu city represented by different land uses such as industrial, urban-residential, high-density traffic, and sub-urban locations, and evaluated their ecological and health risks. The ratio of metal concentrations in RDD to their respective background levels varied as: Cu (3.94) > Pb (3.75) > Zn (3.01) > Cr (1.75) > Ni (1.51) > Mn (1.40) > V (1.35) > Fe (1.1) suggesting Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb were enriched anthropogenically. Geospatial maps revealed a heterogeneous distribution of metals in Jammu city with metal(s) specific hotspots primarily localized around high traffic density locations and industrial clusters. The index of geoaccumulation indicated 32%, 26%, 20%, 9%, and 8%, of samples belonged to “moderately polluted” category for Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni respectively. Health index (HI) showed low non-carcinogenic hazards of metal contamination to adults but a high hazard to children. Though the values of total carcinogenic risks (TCR) (6.53E-05 to 3.71E−04) considerably exceeded the USEPA acceptable levels (1 × 10−6 ≤ TCR 40 suggesting “moderate to high ecological risk” of metal contamination in the Jammu city RDD. [Display omitted] •Spatial distribution of V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb in road deposited Dust (RDD) from Jammu city has been assessed.•Ecological and human risks from heavy metals in RDD have been evaluated using empirical methods.•Identification of anthropogenic sources of metals in RDD has been done using a multivariate statistical approach.