Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils, Road Dust, and Their PM10 Fractions in Sebastopol: Levels, Sources, and Pollution Risk
Liliya Bezberdaya, Н.С. Касимов, Olga Chernitsova, Anna Tkachenko, Mikhail Lychagin
Abstract
The accumulation levels, spatial distribution, and sources of heavy metals and metalloids (HMMs) in urban soils, road dust, and their PM10 particles (diameter <10 µm) are for the first time assessed in different functional areas and on the roads of different types in Sebastopol, a large industrial and recreational city. The chemical analysis was done by ICP-MS and ICP-AES methods. The main pollutants of urban soils and road dust are Pb, Zn, Sb, Cd, Sn, Cu, and Mo. The results demonstrate an uneven spatial distribution of individual HMMs within the city resulting from terrigenous and anthropogenic sources. The concentrations of almost all HMMs in the PM10 particles of soils and dust are considerably higher as compared with the total contents, the share of Zn, Bi, and Cs exceeding 65% of the total content and of As, Pb, Sb, Cd, Pb, W, V, Ni, and Co amounting to approximately 50%. PM10 particles, forming a larger number of anomalies with an extreme HMM pollution level in industrial zones and courtyard driveways of residential zones, are the most hazardous.