To develop accurate air pollution control policies, it is necessary to determine the sources of different types of fugitive dust in mining and metallurgy areas. A method integrating principal component analysis and a positive matrix factorization model was used to identify the potential sources of heavy metals (HMs) in five different types of fugitive dust. The results showed accumulation of Mn, Fe, and Cu can be caused by natural geological processes, which contributed 38.55% of HMs. The Ni and Co can be released from multiple transport pathways and accumulated through local deposition, which contributed 29.27%. Mining-related activities contributed 20.11% of the HMs and showed a relatively high accumulation of As, Sn, Zn, and Cr, while traffic-related emissions contributed the rest of the HMs and were responsible for the enrichment in Pb and Cd. The co-applied source-identification models improved the precision of the identification of sources, which revealed that the local geological background and mining-related activities were mainly responsible for the accumulation of HMs in the area. The findings can help the government develop targeted control strategies for HM dispersion efficiency.

This study aimed to assess the pollution levels, sources, and human health risks of heavy metals in street dust from a typical industrial district in Wuhan City, Central China. In total, 47 street dust samples were collected from the major traffic arteries and streets around Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Company (WISC) in Qingshan District, Wuhan. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Cd) in street dust were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results indicated that the mean concentrations of Zn (249.71 mg/kg), Cu (51.15 mg/kg), and Cd (0.86 mg/kg) in street dust were higher than their corresponding soil background values in Hubei Province. Heavy metal enrichment is closely related to urban transportation and industrial production. The pollution level of heavy metals in street dust was assessed using the geo-accumulation method (I_geo) and potential ecological risk assessment (PERI). Based on the I_geo value, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni showed no pollution, Zn and Cu showed light to moderate contamination, and Cd showed moderate contamination. The PERI values of heavy metals in street dust ranged between 76.70 and 7027.28, which represents a medium to high potential ecological risk. Principal component analysis showed that the sources of heavy metals in street dust were mainly influenced by anthropogenic activities. Among the studied metals, Cu, Cr, Zn, Fe, and Mn mainly come from industrial processes, while Ni and Cd come from traffic exhaust. The non-carcinogenic risk indexes of heavy metals for children and adults are ranked as Cr > Cu > Ni > Cd > Zn. The health risks to children through the different exposure pathways are higher than those for adults. Hand-to-mouth intake is the riskiest exposure pathway for non-carcinogenic risk. In addition, Cr, Ni, and Cd do not pose a carcinogenic risk for the residents.

In order to study the pollution characteristics, sources, and health risks of heavy metals in urban atmospheric PM_2.5, samples were collected in Huangshi City from June 2021 to May 2022. The contents of 16 kinds of metal elements were analyzed by XRF, and the pollution degree and sources of elements were analyzed by the enrichment factor method, correlation analysis, and cluster analysis. The health risk of heavy metal elements was evaluated by the USEPA health risk assessment model. The results of enrichment factor analysis show that the metal elements carried by PM_2.5 were affected by human emissions except for Ti. Heavy metals mainly come from industrial sources, motor vehicle sources, mixed combustion sources, and dust sources, according to correlation analysis and cluster analysis. Mn had a non-carcinogenic risk to children, and the non-carcinogenic risk of other elements to the human body was generally acceptable. The carcinogenic risks of Cr, As, Cd, and Co exceeded the acceptable carcinogenic risk threshold (10⁻⁶ ~10⁻⁴), and there were potential carcinogenic risks.

In this study, to investigate the contamination characteristics and potential health implications of heavy metals in road dust of the typical county in central China, heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, V, Pb, Zn) in typical road dust with large traffic flow, in different functional areas of Yangxin County, were determined. The results of the geo-accumulation index (I_geo) showed that Co, Mn, Ni, and V were not polluted, while other heavy metals caused different degrees of pollution. According to principal component analysis (PCA), there were three main sources of heavy metals. The result of statistical analysis showed that heavy metal pollution in road dust mainly comes from traffic activities, industrial production activities, building pollution, and the natural environment. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of children and adults were within the safe range, and hand–oral contact was the main exposure route of non-carcinogenic risks. The non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic effects of heavy metals in urban road dust were acceptable to children and adults. However, we should still pay attention to the impact of heavy metals on the ecological environment and human health.