Heavy Metal Pollution Characteristics and Ecological and Health Risk Assessment of Atmospheric PM 2.5 in a Living Area of Zhengzhou City

• Published in: Huanjing kexue Vol. 40; no. 11; p. 4774
• Main Authors: He, Rui-Dong, Zhang, Yi-Shun, Chen, Yong-Yang, Jin, Meng-Jie, Han, Shi-Jie, Zhao, Jin-Shuai, Zhang, Rui-Qin, Yan, Qi-She
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 08.11.2019
• Subjects: China; Cities; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollution; Humans; Metals, Heavy; Risk Assessment; China; Cities; health risk assessment; ecological risk analysis; PM2.5; enrichment factor(EF); principal component analysis(PCA)
• ISSN: 0250-3301

To study the pollution characteristics of atmospheric heavy metal elements in a living area of Zhengzhou City, assess the potential ecological risks, and determine risks to resident health in this city, the Wuhan Tianhong TH-16A Airborne Particles Intelligent Sampler was used to collect atmospheric PM in Zhengzhou City. The mass concentrations of 17 metal elements were analyzed by ambient air determination of inorganic elements by ambient particle matter wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The source of heavy metals was analyzed by the enrichment factor method and principal component analysis. The ecological risk index method and the US Environmental Protection Agency's health risk assessment method were used to evaluate the potential ecological risks and residents' health risks from Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, As, and other elements. The results showed that metals with higher enrichment factor values were Cd, Sb, Pb, and As, and Cd had the highest enrichment factor value. The sources of metal