Pollution Caused by Potentially Toxic Elements Present in Road Dust from Industrial Areas in Korea

Abstract

We examined the pollution characteristics of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in road dust (RD) from nine industrial areas in South Korea to assess PTE pollution levels and their environmental risks for devising better strategies for managing RD. The median concentrations (mg/kg) were in the order Zn (1407) > Cr (380) > Cu (276) > Pb (260) > Ni (112) > As (15) > Cd (2) > Hg (0.1). The concentration of PTEs was the highest at the Onsan Industrial Complex, where many smelting facilities are located. Our results show that Onsan, Noksan, Changwon, Ulsan, Pohang, and Shihwa industrial areas are heavily polluted with Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb. The presence of these toxic elements in RD from the impervious layer in industrial areas may have a moderate to severe effect on the health of the biota present in these areas. The potential ecological risk index (Eri) for PTEs was in the decreasing order of Cd > Pb > Hg > Cu > As > Zn > Ni > Cr, indicating that the dominant PTE causing ecological hazards is Cd owing to its high toxicity. Our research suggests the necessity for the urgent introduction of an efficient management strategy to reduce RD, which adds to coastal pollution and affects human health.

Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) Composition and Human Health Risk Assessment of PM10 on the Roadways of Industrial Complexes in South Korea

“…From 2010 to 2014, the average PM10 level in the ambient air near the investigated ICs was 42-52 μg/m 3 per year, exceeding the annual PM10 permissible level set by the world health organization (20 μg/m 3 ) [73]. The number of employees in the ICs investigated in this study ranges from approximately 8,000 to 300,000, and there will likely be many road users in these areas [44]. Moreover, the ICs are based an average of 14.25 km away from residential areas with infrastructure, and 45% are located within 10 km from residential areas [69].…”

“…Map and sampling stations of nine industrial complexes where RDS was collected in this study. PM10 samples from in this study were separated from bulk RDS samples of our previous study [44]. More detailed information of the study area can be obtained from the previously reported study [44].…”

“…This study was conducted on samples obtained from the bulk RDS samples collected in our previous study [44], for the follow-up study. More detailed information of the study area can be obtained from the previously reported study [44]. A total of 165 RDS samples were collected from nine ICs.…”

“…Even though public health risk assessment using RDS has been actively carried out for a decade, there are still few reports from studies on PM of RDS as shown in Table 1. Our previous study showed that the PTE level of RDS in an industrial complex in Korea is at a level that has a severe impact on the surrounding ecological environment [44], and the proportion of fine particles is high. We found that public health assessments for PM are required.…”

“…Therefore, research onroad PM pollution in industrial areas is important for human health in Korea. Our previous research reported that roads in IC in Korea are heavily polluted with PTEs such as Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb [44], and the fine RDS (less than 63-125 μm) contain high levels of PTEs (i.e., Zn, Cu, Pb and Sb) [19,45,46].…”