Hashisho Z, El-Fadel M
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Environ Monit Assess. 2004 Apr-May;93(1-3):185-202. doi: 10.1023/b:emas.0000016804.88534.34.
Lead is a purely toxic heavy metal which induces a wide variety of adverse physiologic effects. Nevertheless, it has been mined and used for more than 8,000 years. Among the different contemporary sources of lead pollution, traffic-induced emissions from the combustion of leaded gasoline is of particular concern, as it can constitute more than 90 percent of total lead emissions into the atmosphere in congested urban areas where no phase-out activities have been adopted. Gasoline lead content and traffic volume are strongly correlated with concentrations of lead in various environmental media. In the absence of policies to reduce the use of lead in gasoline or to favor the use of unleaded gasoline, leaded gasoline remains the predominant grade in many countries. This paper assesses the status of lead pollution from the combustion of leaded gasoline in Beirut based on field measurements of lead in air and roadside dust of urban and rural/suburban areas and recent data on soil and blood lead levels. Average atmospheric lead concentrations was about 1.86 microg m(-3) at urban locations and 0.147 microg m(-3) at suburban locations. The analysis of roadside dust revealed an average lead level of 353 microg g(-1) along urban streets and 125 microg g(-1) along rural/suburban roads. Blood lead levels were also relatively high in comparison to countries where leaded gasoline has been phased-out.
铅是一种纯有毒重金属，会引发多种不良生理效应。然而，人类开采和使用铅已有8000多年历史。在当代不同的铅污染来源中，含铅汽油燃烧产生的交通排放尤为令人担忧，因为在未采取淘汰活动的拥堵城市地区，其铅排放量可占大气总铅排放量的90%以上。汽油中的铅含量和交通流量与各种环境介质中的铅浓度密切相关。在缺乏减少汽油中铅使用或推广使用无铅汽油政策的情况下，含铅汽油在许多国家仍然是主要类型。本文基于对城市和农村/郊区空气中的铅以及路边灰尘的现场测量，以及土壤和血铅水平的最新数据，评估了贝鲁特含铅汽油燃烧造成的铅污染状况。城市地区大气铅平均浓度约为1.86微克/立方米，郊区为0.147微克/立方米。对路边灰尘的分析显示，城市街道沿线的铅平均含量为353微克/克，农村/郊区道路沿线为125微克/克。与已淘汰含铅汽油的国家相比，这里的血铅水平也相对较高。
