A review of heavy metals in indoor dust and its human health-risk implications

Abstract

Indoor dust acts as a media for heavy metal deposition. Past studies have shown that heavy metal concentration in indoor dust is affected by local human activities and atmospheric transport can have harmful effects on human health. Additionally, children are more sensitive to heavy metals due to their hand-to-mouth behaviour and rapid body development. However, limited information on health risks were found in past dust studies as these studies aimed to identify heavy metal concentrations and sources of indoor dust. The objective of this review is to discuss heavy metal concentration and sources influencing its concentration in indoor dust. Accordingly, high lead (Pb) concentration (639.10 μg/g) has been reported in heavy traffic areas. In addition, this review paper aims to estimate the health risk to children from heavy metals in indoor dust via multiple exposure pathways using the health-risk assessment (HRA). Urban areas and industrial sites have revealed high heavy metal concentration in comparison to rural areas. Hazard index (HI) values found in arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and Pb were 21.30, 1.10 and 2.40, respectively, indicate that non-carcinogenic elements are found in children. Furthermore, most of the past studies have found that carcinogenic risks for As, cadmium (Cd), Cr and Pb were below the acceptable total lifetime cancer risk (TLCR) range (1×10-6-1×10-4). The results of health risk assessment in this review show that carcinogenic risk exists among children. Hence, this proves that future studies need to focus on children's carcinogenic risk in indoor dust studies in order to find out the sources of heavy metals in indoor dust. This review highlights the importance of having the HRA application using bioavailable heavy metal concentration as it provides more accurate health-risk estimation. Moreover, this review is also useful as a reference for policy decision making in protecting children's health.

Chemical Characterization of Indoor and Outdoor Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10) in Doha, Qatar

“…Previous studies have indicated that areas in the vicinity of urban and industrial sites are characterized by higher metal concentration in indoor dust, compared to rural and village ones. The metal concentration in indoor dust was altered by the building's dustiness and ventilation pattern (Tan et al, 2016).…”

Indoor air quality in schools of a highly polluted south Mediterranean area

“…Recent reports highlighted the potential health-related concerns associated with dust particle exposure, 3 in particular in areas close to industrial sites where higher heavy metal concentration in indoor dust has been reported. 4 Multidisciplinary reports about indoor measurements in heavily polluted areas on health-relevant chemical and physical properties are still scanty. 5 In addition to the specific sources related to indoor activities, indoor air quality (IAQ) has been shown to have a direct association with the quality of outdoor air 6 ; the contribution due to the infiltration of pollutants from outdoor sources has been analyzed in some previous studies, some of which focused on particulate matter (PM).…”

Evaluation of serum heavy metal levels on primary ovarian insufficiency

“…Heavy metals in case of their non-degradable properties can have high toxicity and adverse effects on health [11,12]. Ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact are the ways of taking heavy metals in to human body [13][14][15][16].…”