Heavy Metal Assessment in Urban Particulate Matter in Industrial Areas of Vadodara City

Abstract

Air pollution related to particulate matter is becoming a crisis of chief concern these days in urban areas. The concentration of ambient particulates is recently grabbing attention all over the world, owing to its harmful effects on people. The prime health risks linked with particulate pollution are breathing problems like asthma and long-term effects leading to premature death in the case of people with respiratory problems. This can essentially be attributed to mounting exposure to urban fine particulates termed as PM2.5. In the past several decades, exhaustive monitoring for ambient heavy metals focussing on long-term temporal trends and chemical characterisation has been done all over the world. The significant aspect of air pollution control depends on recognising the accurate sources of the pollutant. Sampling and monitoring for three sites at PCC industrial area in Vadodara for PM100, PM10, and PM2.5 including heavy metals have been carried out. PM100 concentrations were observed to be between 214 and 398 µg/m³, PM10 was found to be between 70 and 93 µg/m³, and PM2.5 concentration was in the range 10–35 µg/m³. Highest concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cr were found to be 10.86, 6.78, 0.995, 0.151, 0.077, 0.057, 0.025, and 0.014 µg/m³, respectively. The chief sources of particulates and heavy metals at the site were emissions from industrial processes, traffic emissions, and re-suspension dust. It can be inferred that it is necessary to perform a detailed and exhaustive assessment of air pollutants and heavy metals in the study area.