Contamination levels and source apportionment of potentially toxic elements in size-fractionated road dust of Moscow

The distributions of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) among PM1, PM1-10, PM10-50, and PM50-1000 fractions of the road dust were studied in the western and eastern parts of Moscow, impacted mainly by the road transport and the industrial sector, respectively. The partitioning of PTEs in road dust can provide more precise information on pollution sources and its further interpretation regarding human health risks. The concentrations of PTEs were analyzed by mass and atomic emission inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. Differences in the results between the western and eastern parts of the city were caused by the dissimilarity between traffic and industrial emissions. The source apportionment of the PTEs was carried out using absolute principal component analysis with multiple linear regressions (PCA/APCS-MLR). The contribution from anthropogenic sources was significant to PM1 and PM1-10 particles. In coarser fractions (PM10-50, PM50-1000), it decreased due to the input with the wind-induced resuspension of soil and rock particles. In the eastern part of the city, the accumulation of PTEs (especially Mo, Sb, Cd, Sn, Bi, Co, and As) is the most active in PM1-10, while in the western part, it is most pronounced in PM1 (especially Pb, Cu, Cr, and W) which is associated with differences in the size of particles coming from traffic and industrial sources. In the eastern part of Moscow, in comparison with the western part, the contribution from industrial sources to the accumulation of PTEs in all particle size fractions was higher by 10-30%. In the western part of Moscow, the finest particles PM1 and PM1-10 demonstrate the trend of rising pollution levels with the increase in road size, while in the eastern part of the city, only coarse particles PM50-1000 show the same trend. In the fractions PM1 and PM1-10 of road dust, a significant contribution was made by anthropogenic sources; however, its role decreased in the coarse fractions-PM10-50 and especially in PM50-1000- due to the influence of roadside soils and their parent material.

Automated summary

The distribution of potentially toxic elements in road dust samples from western and eastern parts of Moscow was studied. The results showed differences between the two areas, which were attributed to variations in traffic and industrial emissions. The study also found that industrial sources contributed more to the accumulation of potentially toxic elements in the eastern part of the city.