Characteristics and Risk Assessment of 16 Metals in Street Dust Collected from a Highway in a Densely Populated Metropolitan Area of Vietnam

The present study focused on investigating the contamination and risk assessment for 16 metals in street dust from Ha Noi highway, Ho Chi Minh City. The results indicated that the concentrations of metals (mg/kg) were found, in decreasing order, to be Ti (676.3 +/- 155.4) > Zn (519.2 +/- 318.9) > Mn (426.6 +/- 113.1) > Cu (144.7 +/- 61.5) > Cr (81.4 +/- 22.6) > Pb (52.2 +/- 22.9) > V (35.5 +/- 5.6) > Ni (30.9 +/- 9.5) > Co (8.3 +/- 1.2) > As (8.3 +/- 2.5) > Sn (7.0 +/- 3.6) > B (5.7 +/- 0.9) > Mo (4.1 +/- 1.7) > Sb (0.8 +/- 0.3) > Cd (0.6 +/- 0.2) > Se (0.4 +/- 0.1). The geo-accumulation index (I-geo) showed moderate contamination levels for Pb, Cd, Cu, Sn, Mo, and Zn. The enrichment factor (EF) values revealed moderate levels for Cd, Cu, Mo, and Sn but moderate-severe levels for Zn. The pollution load index of the heavy metals was moderate. The potential ecological risk (207.43) showed a high potential. Notably, 40.7% and 33.5% of the ecological risks were contributed by Zn and Mn, respectively. These findings are expected to provide useful information to decision-makers about environmental quality control strategies.

Automated summary

The study investigated the contamination and risk assessment of 16 metals in street dust from Ha Noi highway, Ho Chi Minh City, revealing moderate contamination levels for certain metals like Pb, Cd, Cu, Sn, Mo, and Zn. The enrichment factor values showed moderate levels for some metals and moderate-severe levels for Zn. The potential ecological risk was high with Zn and Mn contributing significantly to the risk. These findings aim to provide useful information for decision-makers on environmental quality control strategies.