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Lead in roadway dusts from different functional areas in a typical valley city, NW China: contamination and exposure risk

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Abstract

Lead contamination and exposure risk assessment in roadway dusts from four different functional areas in a typical valley city in northwest China (Xi’an) were conducted in this study. A total of 130 roadway dust samples from park area (PA), traffic area (TA), educational area (EA), and residential area (RA) were collected and Pb concentrations in the samples were determined by using XRF (X-ray fluorescence). Geo-accumulation index (I geo) and enrichment factor (EF) were applied to assess Pb contamination level and the hazard indexes (HI) of Pb were calculated to evaluate the exposure risks to children and adults. The results showed that roadway dusts from all four functional areas had elevated Pb concentrations and pollution characteristics of Pb were discrepant in different functional areas. The mean concentration of Pb in roadway dusts from PA, TA, EA, and RA was 147.4, 74.8, 119.6, and 161.0 mg kg−1, respectively. The I geo and EF of Pb were mostly 1–3 and 2–20, which indicated moderate to high Pb contamination in roadway dusts. High contamination level of Pb in RA and EA should receive priority for prevention and control. Exposure risk assessment of Pb from roadway dusts was mainly in the acceptable range, but the potential risk of Pb exposure to children should be continuously concerned.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ying Liu, Tianning Gao, Li Huang, and Yuyu Chang for their help with the sampling.

Funding

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through Grant 41271510 and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities through Grant GK201601009.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710119, People’s Republic of China

    Huiyun Pan & Xinwei Lu

  2. Institute of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454000, People’s Republic of China

    Huiyun Pan

  3. School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Lei

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  1. Huiyun Pan
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  2. Xinwei Lu
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Correspondence to Xinwei Lu.

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Pan, H., Lu, X. & Lei, K. Lead in roadway dusts from different functional areas in a typical valley city, NW China: contamination and exposure risk. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 523–532 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0467-3

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