Evaluation of the pollution and human health risks posed by heavy metals in the atmospheric dust in Ebinur Basin in Northwest China

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 22; no. 18; pp. 14018 - 14031
• Main Authors: Abuduwailil, Jilili, Zhaoyong, Zhang, Fengqing, Jiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Arid zones; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cadmium; China; Chromium; Coastal environments; Copper; Dust; Dust - analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental quality; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Heavy metals; Humans; Laboratories; Lead; Mercury; Metals; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Particulate Matter - analysis; Pollution levels; Research Article; Risk Assessment; Soil quality; Surface water; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; China; China, People's Rep; Atmospheric deposition; Health risk evaluation; Northwest China; Pollution assessment; Heavy metals; Ebinur Basin
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4625-1

Recently, a large amount of research assessing pollution levels and the related health risks posed by atmosphere dust has been undertaken worldwide. However, little work has been done in the oases of the arid regions of Northwest China. In this paper, we studied the pollution and health risks over a year of seven heavy metals in the atmospheric dust of Ebinur Basin, a typical oasis in Northwest China. The results showed the following: (1) The annual amount of atmospheric deposition in Ebinur Basin was 298.23 g m −2 and the average monthly atmospheric deposition was 25.06 g m −2 . The average and maximum values of the seven heavy metals measured were all below the National Soil Environmental Quality Standards (2nd). (2) Heavy metals of Cu, Cr, and As in the atmospheric deposition mainly originated from the natural geological background, while Zn came from human activity. This study also showed that among the seven measured heavy metals, the ratios of the no-pollution status of Pb, Cd, and Hg were higher than those of others with moderate degrees of pollution also accounting for a certain ratio. (3) The carcinogenic risks from As, Cd, and Cr were all lower than the corresponding standard limit values, and these metals are considered not harmful to the health of the basin. However, there is a relatively high risk of exposure for children from hand-to-mouth intake, which is worthy of attention. This research showed that both human activity and natural factors, such as wind and altitude, influenced the heavy metal contents in the atmospheric dust of the study area. Furthermore, recent human activity in the study area had the most negative influence on the accumulation of the heavy metals and the corresponding health risks, especially for Hg, Pb, and Cd, which is worthy of attention.