Characteristics and health risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in atmospheric particulate matter in different regions of the Yellow River Delta in China

Assessment of Fluxes and Ecological and Health Risks of Toxic Trace Elements in Atmospheric Deposition from the Baicheng-Songyuan Area, Jilin Province, Northeast China

“…A large number of studies were focused on toxic trace elements, such as As, Co, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn, etc., in atmospheric deposition with particular attention to their distribution, fluxes, and sources [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], and recently some other studies have focused on the pollution and health risks of varied toxic trace elements in atmospheric deposition with various pollution indexes and hazardous quotients and hazardous indices. Using multiple indices to assess the pollution extent of toxic trace elements in atmospheric deposition has become a common approach by researchers [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. In health risk assessment of toxic trace elements, the method recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency is widely used in regards to atmospheric deposition [33][34][35].…”

“…Improper land use and climate change have caused degradation, desertification, and soil alkalization, resulting in dust and saline storms frequently occurring in the area during the spring time, which may increase the emission of soil dust particles into the atmosphere. Previous atmospheric deposition studies in China have mainly focused on urban or industrial areas [10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]21,28,32,38], but limited information about atmospheric deposition is available on the vast rural areas that are seriously affected by dust storms in North China [10] and Northeast China [7,36]. So far, no systematic investigation has been conducted on toxic trace elements in atmospheric deposition in the study area.…”