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Speciation of Heavy Metals in Road Runoff and Roadside Total Deposition

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Abstract

The concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, W and Zn were measured in road runoff and total deposition at two Swedish field sites during one year. It was found that the concentrations of most elements increased significantly during the winter, up to one order of magnitude. For cobalt and tungsten, it was found that around 90% of the total mass transport occurred during the winter, whereas for Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn and Na, the corresponding figures were 70–90, 40–80, 60–90, 50–70 and ≥99% depending on site specific conditions. The deicing salts (rock salts) did not significantly contribute to the increase in trace element concentrations. Instead, the increased concentrations were due to more intense wearing of the pavement during the winter because of the use of studded tires in combination with the chemical effects caused by the use of deicing salts. New potential elemental markers for roads and traffic are suggested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Man-Technology-Environment Research Centre, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden (author for correspondence

    Mattias Bäckström, Bert Allard & Stefan Karlsson

  2. Swedish Geotechnical Institute, Linköping, Sweden

    Ulrika Nilsson & Karsten Håkansson

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  1. Mattias Bäckström
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  2. Ulrika Nilsson
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  3. Karsten Håkansson
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  4. Bert Allard
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Correspondence to Mattias Bäckström.

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Bäckström, M., Nilsson, U., Håkansson, K. et al. Speciation of Heavy Metals in Road Runoff and Roadside Total Deposition. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 147, 343–366 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024545916834

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