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Contamination level, spatial distribution, and sources of potentially toxic elements in indoor settled household dusts in Tehran, Iran

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Abstract

Tehran, the capital city of Iran, has been facing air pollution for several decades due to rapid urbanization, population growth, improper vehicle use, and the low quality of fuels. In this study, 31 indoor dust samples were collected passively from residential and commercial buildings located in the central and densely populated districts of the city. These samples were analyzed after preparation to measure the concentration of elements (As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, V, Zn). Statistical data analyses were employed to compare their relationship across various uses, variations, and for source identification. Geochemical indices of contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI) were utilized to evaluate the degree of contamination. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cu, and Pb (938, 206, and 176 µg g−1, respectively) are 6, 5, and 3 times higher than their mean values in worldwide urban soils. Additionally, Cd, Mo, and Ni showed concentrations about 1.5 times higher, while As, Co, Cr, Mn, and Sr fell within the range of reference soils. Be, V, and Sb displayed remarkably lower mean values. Building use did not significantly influence element levels in indoor deposited dust except for Pb and Zn. A comparison of indoor concentrations with previously published data for outdoor dusts revealed higher enrichments of Mo, Cu, Pb, and Ni, while As, Cd, and Zn showed lower enrichments in street dust samples. The order of CF values indicated Hg > Zn > Cd > Pb > Cu > As > Ni > Cr > Co > V. For Hg, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Cu, all or almost all samples exhibited very high contamination. PLI values were consistently higher than 1, indicating contamination in all samples. Multivariate statistical analysis and Tehran’s specific geological location suggested that mafic-intermediate volcanic rocks are primary sources for Cr, Cu, Fe, and Ni (PC1). As, Pb, and V (PC2) were attributed to fossil fuel combustion in vehicles and residential buildings. Pb is a legacy metal remaining from the use of leaded gasoline, which was phased out in the 1990s. Zn (PC3) is derived from vehicle tires.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their deepest gratitude to Professor Michael Watts, the Editor in Chief, and Professor Jack Ng, the Handling Editor for their precious time and efforts throughout the review process. The anonymous reviewers are highly appreciated for their helpful comments. We also appreciate Dr. Mahsa Tashakor, the researcher at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Central Michigan University, for helping us with data processing and copy-editing of the revised manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Neda Khajooee, Behnoush Khoshmanesh Zadeh & Fatemeh Razavian

  2. School of Geology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Soroush Modabberi

  3. Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201, Reus, Catalonia, Spain

    Nuria Gayà-Caro & Joaquim Rovira

  4. Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), 43204, Reus, Catalonia, Spain

    Nuria Gayà-Caro & Joaquim Rovira

  5. Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitat de Barcelona, Joan XXIII s/n Avenue, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Jordi Sierra

  6. Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Paisos Catalans Avenue 26, 43007, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

    Joaquim Rovira

  7. Center of Environmental, Food and Toxicological Technology - TecnATox, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain

    Nuria Gayà-Caro, Jordi Sierra & Joaquim Rovira

Authors
  1. Neda Khajooee
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  2. Soroush Modabberi
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Contributions

NK was involve in conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, software, validation, and writing—original draft. SM contributed to conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, software, supervision, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. BKZ was involved in conceptualization, methodology, project administration, supervision, and writing—review and editing. FR contributed to investigation, project administration, and supervision. NGC was involved in data curation, formal analysis, and writing—review and editing. JS contributed to data curation, formal analysis, and writing—review and editing. JR was involved in conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, resources, and writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Soroush Modabberi.

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Khajooee, N., Modabberi, S., Khoshmanesh Zadeh, B. et al. Contamination level, spatial distribution, and sources of potentially toxic elements in indoor settled household dusts in Tehran, Iran. Environ Geochem Health 46, 56 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01838-8

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