Evaluation of pollution indices, health hazards and source identification of heavy metal in dust particles and storm trajectory simulation using HYSPLIT model (Case study: Hendijan center dust, southwest of Iran)

Atmospheric dust is one of the most recent environmental pollutions in Iran. This study examines the concentration of heavy metals and the assessment of environmental and human health risk in the dust samples of Hendijan region as one of the most important centers of wind erosion in the southwestern of Iran. ICP-MSS analysis was performed on 18 samples of fine dust to specify the concentration of heavy metals. Studies showed that the highest concentrations of metals in these fine dust samples belong to Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, As, Pb and Cd, respectively. Examining fine dust's pollution assessment showed that the highest enrichment and geo-accumulation index belong to As, Ni and Cr metals. Environmental risk assessment shows the low environmental risk of these fine dusts. The hazard quotient in children and adults belongs to Cr, As and Ni, respectively. Human health risk assessment also showed that the highest absorption of metals in both children and adults is through ingestion. The non-carcinogenic risk of heavy metals of dust samples in children is about 9 times more than adults. The highest risk of cancer in the adult group belongs to Ni metal and in the group of children belongs to As and Ni metal. PCA analysis showed that As, Cu, Cd, Cr and Ni are of anthropogenic origin and Zn and Pb are of geogenic origin. The source of the dust phenomenon with the HYSPLIT model and the backward method indicates the tracking of this dust mass through Iraq, and its probable origin was assessed in the centers of northern Iraq and southeastern Syria.

Automated summary

This study investigates the concentration of heavy metals and the assessment of environmental and human health risk in the dust samples of the Hendijan region in Iran. The results show high concentrations of heavy metals such as Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, As, Pb, and Cd in the dust samples. The pollution assessment indicates high enrichment of As, Ni, and Cr metals in the fine dust. The environmental risk of the dust samples is low, but there is a higher health risk in children compared to adults, with Cr, As, and Ni being the main contributors. The analysis also reveals that As, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Ni have anthropogenic origins while Zn and Pb are geogenic. The study traces the origin of the dust mass to Northern Iraq and Southeastern Syria through the HYSPLIT model.