The main sources of non-exhaust vehicular emissions that contribute to road dust are tire, brake and clutch wear, road surface wear, and other vehicle and road component degradation. This study is an attempt to identify and investigate heavy metals in urban and motorway road dusts as well as in dust from brake linings and tires. Road dust was collected from sections of the A-4 motorway in Poland, which is part of European route E40, and from urban roads in Katowice, Poland. Dust from a relatively unpolluted mountain road was collected and examined as a control sample. Selected metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe, Se, Sr, Ba, Ti, and Pd were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-optical emission spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy on a range of size-fractionated road dust and brake lining dust (250 μm). The compositions of brake lining and tire dust were also investigated using scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectroscopy. To estimate the degree of potential environmental risk of non-exhaust emissions, comparison with the geochemical background and the calculations of geo-accumulation indices were performed. The finest fractions of urban and motorway dusts were significantly contaminated with all of the investigated metals, especially with Ti, Cu, and Cr, which are well-recognized key tracers of non-exhaust brake wear. Urban dust was, however, more contaminated than motorway dust. It was therefore concluded that brake lining and tire wear strongly contributed to the contamination of road dust.

The objective of the study was to determine concentration of metals in sidewalk dust collected in close vicinity to heavily congested roads in Poland in order to assess non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk for both children and adults associated with the ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation of sidewalk dust. Results revealed that sidewalk dust from Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Opole is heavily contaminated especially with Sb, Se, Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, considered as indicators of traffic emission. Hazardous indices determined for different exposure pathways indicated that the greatest health risk for both children and adults is associated with the ingestion of sidewalk dust. Carcinogenic risk associated with the ingestion of sidewalk dust by children, calculated for As, Cd, Ni and Pb exceeded safe level of 1 × 10⁻⁴ in all cities except for Warsaw. Non-carcinogenic risk of ingestion for children was two orders of magnitude higher than dermal risk and four to five orders of magnitude higher than risk of inhalation. Non-carcinogenic risk associated with the ingestion of sidewalk dust by adults is comparable with dermal contact risk and five orders of magnitude higher when inhalation risk.

Research was conducted on the most polluted river system in Poland, impacted by active and historical mining. Bottom sediment, suspended particulate matter and river water were collected in 2014 from Przemsza river and its tributaries. Sampling points remained the same as those chosen in a 1995 study. This allowed the comparison of heavy metal accumulation in bottom sediment over a span of almost two decades. It was concluded that Przemsza river water and its tributaries are heavily contaminated with the following (in μg/dm³): Pb (0.99–145.7), Zn (48–5020), and Cd 0.12–12.72). Concentrations of metals in bottom sediment exceeded the background values by a factor of several hundred (100 times for Zn, 150 times for Pb, and 240 times for Cd). The arithmetic mean for metal concentration in fractions <63 μm sampled in 2014 has remained comparable to the level found in 1995 (in mg/kg): Zn 16,918 and 13,505, Pb 4177 and 4758, and Cd 92 and 134. It was determined that 20–50% more metals have accumulated in suspended matter, rather than in bottom sediment (in mg/kg): 20,498 Zn, Pb 5170, and 164 Cd. This exceeds the limits of the most polluted LAWA Class IV classification. Since the concentrations of Zn, Pb, and Cd increase drastically after the outlet of the Przemsza into the Vistula, it was concluded that river Przemsza is the cause of significant degradation of Vistula’s bottom sediment and suspended matter. A two-decade legacy of extremely high contamination of the Przemsza river sediments has persisted despite decreasing mining and smelting activity in the vicinity.

The research comprised of studying the effect composting sewage sludge with sawdust and vermicomposting with earthworm Eisenia fetida has on the degradation of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Raw rural sewage sludge prior composting was more contaminated with PAHs than urban sewage sludge, in both cases exceeding EU cutoff limits of 6 mg/kg established for land application. Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DBahAnt), acenaphtylene (Acy) and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene (IPyr) were predominant in rural sewage sludge, whilst the urban sewage sludge contained the highest concentrations of benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbFl), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkFl) and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene (IPyr). Thirty days of composting with sawdust has caused a significant reduction of 16 PAHs on average from 26.07 to 4.01 mg/kg (84.6%). During vermicomposting, total PAH concentration decreased on average from 15.5 to 2.37 mg/kg (84.7%). Vermicomposting caused full degradation of hydrocarbons containing 2 and 6 rings and significant reduction of PAHs with 3 aromatic rings (94.4%) as well as with 5 aromatic rings (83.2%). The lowest rate of degradation (64.4%) was observed for hydrocarbons with 4 aromatic rings such as fluoranthene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene and pyrene. On the other hand, the highest level of degradation was determined for PAHs with 2 rings (100%), 3 rings (88%) and 6 aromatic rings in the molecule (86.9%) after composting with sawdust. Acenaphthene and pyrene were found to be the most resistant to biodegradation during both composting methods.

This research involved studying the physico-chemical parameters of fly ash derived from the combustion of 100% biomass in bubbling and circulating fluidized bed boilers of two large energy plants in Poland. Chemical composition revealed that ash contains substantial amounts of CaO (12.86–26.5%); K₂O (6.2–8.25%); MgO (2.97–4.06%); P₂O₅ (2–4.63%); S (1.6–1.83%); and micronutrients such as Mn, Zn, Cu, and Co. The ash from the bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) was richer in potassium, phosphorus, CaO, and micronutrients than the ash from the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) and contained cumulatively less contaminants. However, the BFB ash exceeded the threshold values of Cd to be considered as a liming amendment. Additionally, according to our European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) study Pb and Cd were more mobile in the BFB than in the CFB ash. Except for a low nitrogen content, the ash met the minimum requirements for mineral fertilizers. Acute phytotoxicity revealed no inhibition of the germination and seed growth of Avena sativa L. and Lepidium sativum plants amended with biomass ash. Despite the fact that low nitrogen content excludes the use of biomass fly ash as a sole mineral fertilizer, it still possesses other favorable properties (a high content of CaO and macronutrients), which warrants further investigation into its potential utilization.