Geoenvironmental and Health Indices to Assess the Hazardousness of Heavy Metals in Urban Dust in Schoolyards in Murcia, Spain

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible contamination of urban dust in the schoolyards of 27 schools in an urban area of the city of Murcia (SE Spain). The color and degree of magnetism, as well as the heavy metal content (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn), were determined to establish the absence or the degree of contamination, if present, using environmental and health indices. It was established that the concentrations of heavy metals in the dust samples followed the order Zn (454 mg kg−1) > Cu (77 mg kg−1) > Cr (68 mg kg−1) > Pb (56 mg kg−1) > Ni (19 mg kg−1) > Cd (0.4 mg kg−1). Dark-colored dust showed the highest concentrations of contaminants associated with medium or high magnetism. An analysis of the magnetic and non-magnetic fractions indicated the highest concentrations of all heavy metals in the magnetic fraction. According to the geoenvironmental indices used, the ecological risk in these schoolyards is moderate overall. Based on the health indices, ingestion is the main route of entry of dust particles into the body, which poses the main health risk for adults and children for all heavy metals. Regarding the hazard index (HI) for all elements and the cancer risk (CR) for children and adults, the results indicate that there is no health risk.

Keywords

• contamination
• pollution
• urban dust
• heavy metals
• geoenvironmental indices
• risk indices