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Risk assessment of heavy metals in finer than 63-μm dust particles from various functional areas in Xi’an, China

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Abstract

Heavy metals Pb, Cr, Zn, Cu, Co, Mn, and Ni in the dust particles finer than 63 μm from four functional areas of Xi’an, i.e., residential area, educational area, park area, and traffic area, were measured using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The risks of these heavy metals to urban ecosystem and human health were evaluated by the potential ecological risk index and human exposure model, respectively. Compared with Shaanxi soil, the finer dust particles have elevated metal concentrations, except for Co, Mn, and Ni. All analyzed heavy metals have different variation characteristics in four functional areas. The ecological risks of Cr, Zn, Cu, Co, Mn, and Ni in the samples were at lower levels, while the presence of Pb was high. The overall ecological risks of heavy metals measured in the samples were moderate level, which were mainly caused by Pb and Cu. Health risk assessment shows that ingestion was the main exposure route of all analyzed heavy metals in the dust particles finer than 63 μm to children and adults. The non-cancer risks of the heavy metals to children and adults were within the safe range, and the cancer risks of Cr, Co, and Ni were also within the currently acceptable range.

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Acknowledgements

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. Gratitude is expressed to the Shaanxi Normal University for providing the laboratory and research facilities. We thank Ying Liu for collecting samples, and Qian Wang and Yuxin Li for their help with the preparation of samples and with experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710062, People’s Republic of China

    Xinwei Lu, Dongqi Shi, Na Yin & Huiyun Pan

  2. Institute of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454000, China

    Huiyun Pan

  3. Department of Mathematics and Statistical Sciences, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, 39204, USA

    Paris Smith

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  1. Xinwei Lu
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  2. Dongqi Shi
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  3. Na Yin
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  4. Huiyun Pan
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  5. Paris Smith
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Correspondence to Xinwei Lu.

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Lu, X., Shi, D., Yin, N. et al. Risk assessment of heavy metals in finer than 63-μm dust particles from various functional areas in Xi’an, China. Air Qual Atmos Health 10, 907–915 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-017-0480-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-017-0480-1

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