Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Turkey.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan;30(3):7718-7735. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22700-x. Epub 2022 Aug 31.
One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is leading people remain at homes longer than ever. Considering the elongation of the time people spend indoors, the potential health risks caused by contaminants including heavy metals in indoor environments have become even more critical. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels and sources of heavy metals in indoor dust, to assess the exposure to heavy metals via indoor dust, and to estimate the associated health risk. The highest median value was measured for Zn (263 μg g), while the lowest median concentration value was observed for Cd (0.348 μg g). The levels of elements measured in the current study were found to be within the ranges reported in the other parts of the world, mostly close to the lower end of the range. House characteristics such as proximity to the main street, presence of pets, number of occupants, and age of the building were the house characteristics influencing the observed higher concentrations of certain heavy metals in houses. Enrichment factor values range between 1.79 (Cr) and 20.4 (Zn) with an average EF value of 8.80 ± 6.80 representing that the targeted elements are enriched (EF>2) in indoor dust in Ankara. Positive matrix factorization results showed that the heavy metals in the house dust in the study area are mainly contributed from sources namely outdoor dust, carpets/furniture, solders, wall paint/coal combustion, and cigarette smoke. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk values from heavy metals did not exceed the safe limits recommended by EPA. The highest carcinogenic risk level was caused by Cr. The risk through ingestion was higher than inhalation, and the risk levels were higher for children than for adults.
新冠疫情的影响之一是人们比以往任何时候都更长时间地待在家里。考虑到人们在室内的时间延长，室内环境中包括重金属在内的污染物所造成的潜在健康风险变得更加严重。本研究的目的是评估室内灰尘中重金属的水平和来源，评估通过室内灰尘暴露于重金属的情况，并估计相关的健康风险。Zn（263μg/g）的中位数最高，而 Cd（0.348μg/g）的中位数最低。本研究中测量的元素水平被发现处于世界其他地区报告的范围内，大多数接近该范围内的低端。房屋特征，如靠近主要街道、有宠物、居住人数和建筑物的年龄，是影响某些重金属在房屋中观察到更高浓度的房屋特征。富集因子值在 1.79（Cr）和 20.4（Zn）之间，平均 EF 值为 8.80±6.80，表明目标元素在安卡拉室内灰尘中富集（EF>2）。正向矩阵因子分析结果表明，研究区域房屋灰尘中的重金属主要来源于户外灰尘、地毯/家具、焊料、墙壁涂料/煤炭燃烧和香烟烟雾等来源。重金属的致癌和非致癌风险值未超过 EPA 推荐的安全限值。Cr 造成的致癌风险最高。通过摄入的风险高于吸入，儿童的风险水平高于成人。
