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Evaluation of air quality and health risks associated with trace elements in respirable particulates (PM2.5) from Islamabad, Pakistan

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Abstract

Fine atmospheric particulates are associated with numerous environmental and health issues as they can penetrate deeply in the respiratory tract thereby adversely affecting the human health. This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of trace elements in the respirable (PM2.5) fraction of the atmospheric particulates and to understand their pollution status and health risks. The samples were collected from Islamabad, and the metals were extracted using HNO3 and HCl based extraction method. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was employed to quantify the concentrations of selected trace elements. PM2.5 exhibited considerable variations in their minimum (4.737 µg/m3) and maximum (108.1 µg/m3) levels. The significant contributors among the selected elements bound to PM2.5 were Ca (1016 ng/m3), K (759.8 ng/m3), Mg (483.0 ng/m3), Fe (469.7 ng/m3), and Zn (341.1 ng/m3), while Ag (0.578 ng/m3) was found at the lowest levels with an overall descending order: Ca > K > Mg > Fe > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cd > Mn > Sr > Cr > Co > Li > Ag. Multivariate PCA and CA identified industrial activities, combustion processes and automobile emissions as the main anthropogenic contributors to particulate pollution. Enrichment factors and geoaccumulation indices were computed to assess the pollution status. The results also revealed that among the trace elements, Cd showed extremely high contamination, followed by Ag, Zn, and Pb, which showed moderate to high contamination in the atmospheric particulates. Carcinogenic health risks from Pb and Ni were found to be within the safe limit (1.0 × 10–6); however, Cr, Co, and Cd exposure was linked to significant cancer risks. The present elemental levels in PM2.5 were also compared with the reported levels from other regions around the world.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets used for this study are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The research facilities provided by Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan to carry out this project are thankfully acknowledged.

Funding

Funding provided by the Higher Education Commission, Government of Pakistan to complete this project (NRPU Project No. 6176) is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, Mirpur University of Science and Technology, Mirpur, 10250, Pakistan

    Rashida Nazir

  2. Department of Chemistry, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan

    Rashida Nazir & Munir H. Shah

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Rashida Nazir: Data curation; Investigation; Methodology; Validation; Formal analysis; Writing—original draft. Munir H. Shah: Conceptualization; Validation; Visualization; Funding acquisition; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Writing—review & editing. All authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on "Ethical responsibilities of Authors" as found in the Instructions for Authors”.

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Nazir, R., Shah, M.H. Evaluation of air quality and health risks associated with trace elements in respirable particulates (PM2.5) from Islamabad, Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess 195, 1182 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11824-3

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