GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HEAVY METALS AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF ROAD DUST IN CAIRO, EGYPT

Hegazy, Hanan; Hashem, Fayeza; Maree, Ragab; Hewehy, Mahmoud I.

doi:10.21608/jes.2024.266229.1720

	GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HEAVY METALS AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF ROAD DUST IN CAIRO, EGYPT
Journal of Environmental Science
Volume 53, Issue 4, April 2024, Page 1082-1110 PDF (1.18 MB)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.21608/jes.2024.266229.1720
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Authors
Hanan Hegazy ¹; Fayeza Hashem ²; Ragab Maree ³; Mahmoud I. Hewehy⁴
¹Faculty for Environmental Studies and research, Ain shams university,
²chemistry department, faculty of science, Ain shams Unversity, Cairo, Egypt
³Radiation Protection Department. Atomic Energy Authority
⁴Faculty of Environmental Studies and Research, Ain Shams University
Abstract
Urban road dust pollution is a significant issue contributing to atmospheric pollution and storing contaminants such as heavy metals. This study aims to determine the heavy metal content and spatial distribution of road dust in Cairo, a city with increased anthropogenic activity, and to identify the possible main sources of individual metals using multivariate statistical analysis. Our study utilized inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) to assess samples containing 15 heavy metal forms, including Chromium (Cr), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), Cobalt (Co), Bismuth (Bi), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Gallium (Ga), Strontium (Sr), Silver (Ag), Indium (In), Barium (Ba), and Iron (Fe). Various geo-accumulation indices, contamination factors, degree of contamination, pollution load index, enrichment factor, and pollution ecological risk index were used to evaluate the pollution degree. Results showed that the mean concentrations of the major heavy metals were 1798.55, 396.3, 410.22, 466.39, and 472.81 ppm for Pb, Bi, Ni, Cu, and Zn, respectively. The heavy metal spatial distribution was site-specific, with high Bi levels due to extensive industrial activities. The pollution degree decreased in the order of Bi > Hg > Cd > Zn > In > As > Cu. The heavy metals ranged from non-polluting to highly polluting. The study suggested that Bi substitutes Pb in the manufacturing industry as it poses lower risks. The toxic response (Tr) should be figured out regarding its significant enrichment.
Keywords
Road dust; Pollution Indices; Heavy metals; Environmental assessemnt; Bismuth (Bi)


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