Abstract
The continuous expansion of the global vehicle fleet poses a growing threat to environmental quality through heavy metal contamination. In this scenario, monitoring to safeguard public health in urban areas is necessary. Our study involved the collection of 36 street dust and 29 moss samples from roads of a Brazilian metropolis (Recife) with varying traffic intensities as follows: natural reserve (0 vehicles per day), low (< 15,000 vehicles per day), medium (15,000–30,000 vehicles per day), and high (> 30,000 vehicles per day). ICP-AES analysis was performed to determine the concentrations of nine potentially toxic metals (Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) to assess the influence of vehicular flow on urban contamination. In the street dust samples, the mean metal concentrations (mg kg−1) exhibited the following order: Ba (503.7) > Mn (303.0) > Zn (144.4) > Cu (95.3) > Cr (56.1) > Pb (34.2) > V (28.7) > Ni (11.3) > Cd (1.5). Conversely, in the moss samples, the metal concentration order was as follows (mg kg−1): Mn (63.8) > Zn (62.5) > Ba (61.0) > Cu (17.7) > Cr (8.0) > V (7.3) > Pb (7.0) > Ni (2.9) > Cd (0.3). Roads with higher traffic volumes exhibited the highest metal enrichments in moss samples for all metals and in dust samples for Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, and V. However, dust from low-flow roads had higher enrichments for Ba, Cu, and Zn, indicating the influential role of other traffic-related factors in metal deposition. Our findings highlight traffic flow as the predominant source of pollution in urban centers, with both street dust and moss serving as sensitive indicators of metal input attributable to vehicular traffic. These indicators offer valuable insights for urban quality monitoring and pollution control efforts.
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The authors thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), and Foundation for the Support of Science and Technology of Pernambuco (FACEPE).
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This work was supported by the Brazilian institution FACEPE under Grant Number 0430–5.01/14 and Coordination for the Improvement of Higher-Level Personnel (CAPES).
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Luiz Henrique Vieira Lima: methodology, formal analysis, software, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Fernando Bruno Vieira da Silva: methodology, software, writing—review and editing. Paula Renata Muniz Araújo: writing—review and editing. Alfredo Montero Alvarez: visualization, writing—review and editing. Kátia Cavalcanti Pôrto: methodology, writing—review and editing. Clístenes Williams Araújo do Nascimento: resources, writing—review and editing, supervision.
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Lima, L.H.V., da Silva, F.B.V., Araújo, P.R.M. et al. Assessing heavy metal contamination in a Brazilian metropolis: a case study with a focus on (bio)indicators. Environ Monit Assess 196, 481 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12661-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12661-8