Metal(loids) bioaccessibility in road dust from the surrounding villages of an active mine

Candeias, Carla; Ávila, Paula Freire; Silva, Ferreira Da; Rocha, Fernando

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/3723

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Abstract(s)

ABSTRACT: Human activities, in general, cause a significant impact on the environment and human health. The present study aims to characterize the road dust of villages located near an active mine and to assess metal(loids) bioaccessible fractions. From the collected road dust samples (<250 µm fraction), the pseudo total, gastric (G) and gastrointestinal (GI) phase (UBM assay) concentrations, mineralogical composition, enrichment factor (EF), and risk for humans were determined. The obtained results revealed that arsenic represents the highest risk to humans, with mean pseudototal values higher than the maximum reference value range. The enrichment factor pointed to As as having significant to very high enrichment in all of the villages. In addition, Cd presented the maximum EF values in all of the villages, and was thus classified as having a very high enrichment. Particles enriched in As, Ca, Fe, Cu, Al, and Ti were identified by SEM-EDS in weathered agglomerates, and were linked to mine wastes and long-distance transport through both wind and/or traffic. The arsenic bioaccessibility fraction (%BAF) presented low values in the studied samples, possibly because of the low complex solubility of Fe with adsorbed As, limiting the release of arsenic and reducing its bioaccessibility. The concentrations of bioaccessible Cd for the G and GI phases were within the reference range, while for Cu, they were above and for Pb they were lower than the reference value range. The results show that the pseudototal fraction risk is overestimated when compared with BAF%; nevertheless, the total G and GI risks were above the carcinogenic target risk (1 × 10−6) in most of the samples. The carcinogenic risk of the bioaccessible contaminants showed that As represented the higher risk for developing cancer over a lifetime, with ingestion being the main risk route.

Keywords

Road dust Active mine Metal(loids) Arsenic Oral bioaccessibility Human health risk

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/3723

Citation

Candeias et al. 2021, ‘Metal(loids) bioaccessibility in road dust from the surrounding villages of an active mine’, Atmosphere , vol. 12, n.º 6, article 685. doi:10.3390/atmos12060685.