Kacer James, Altmaier Ralph, Latta Drew, O'Shaughnessy Patrick T, Cwiertny David M
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa Iowa City 52242 Iowa USA
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Iowa Iowa City 52242 Iowa USA.
Environ Sci Atmos. 2022 Dec 15;3(1):238-246. doi: 10.1039/d2ea00040g. eCollection 2023 Jan 19.
Various metals have toxic effects by the inhalation route, and electric arc furnace (EAF) steel slag is known to contain metals with a potential for toxicity to humans. In some states, EAF slag is applied to unpaved (gravel) roads as a low-cost supplement to limestone and other crushed stone, where it may be a public health concern for the local population. This study compared the mass of selected metals in the PM size fraction of fugitive dust from roads where slag was applied to metals in fugitive dust where slag was not applied. Manganese, designated by the EPA as a hazardous air pollutant (HAP) and one of the primary metals of concern in the slag, was 1.3 times more concentrated in the PM fraction from the slag-covered roads as compared to the PM fraction from the non-slag-covered roads, but that increase was not significant ( = 0.26). Other metals detected in the airborne dust from both slag-covered and non-slag-covered roads that are also designated as HAPs are antimony, arsenic, chromium, cobalt, lead, nickel, and selenium. In addition, hourly sampling of PM and metals in the PM fraction was conducted at one of the sample locations where slag had been applied to the road. Manganese mass in the PM was positively correlated (Spearman = 0.86) with the particulate mass in the PM. Wind direction and the interaction of traffic and wind direction were found to be statistically significant factors affecting manganese concentrations in the fugitive emissions from the road to which EAF slag had been applied. This research demonstrated that application of steel slag can result in elevated levels of manganese in the airborne dust generated by vehicular traffic on the unpaved roadway.
各种金属通过吸入途径具有毒性作用，电弧炉（EAF）钢渣已知含有对人类具有潜在毒性的金属。在一些州，电弧炉钢渣被用作未铺砌（砾石）道路的低成本补充材料，以替代石灰石和其他碎石，这可能会引起当地居民对公共健康的担忧。本研究比较了在使用钢渣的道路上，逃逸粉尘中细颗粒物（PM）粒径范围内选定金属的质量与未使用钢渣的道路上逃逸粉尘中金属的质量。锰被美国环境保护局指定为有害空气污染物（HAP），也是钢渣中主要关注的金属之一，与未覆盖钢渣的道路上的PM粒径范围相比，覆盖钢渣的道路上的PM粒径范围中的锰浓度高1.3倍，但这种增加并不显著（P = 0.26）。在覆盖钢渣和未覆盖钢渣的道路上的空气中灰尘中检测到也被指定为HAP的其他金属有锑、砷、铬、钴、铅、镍和硒。此外，在其中一个使用了钢渣的道路样本地点，对PM和PM粒径范围内的金属进行了每小时一次的采样。PM中的锰质量与PM中的颗粒物质量呈正相关（斯皮尔曼相关系数 = 0.86）。风向以及交通与风向的相互作用被发现是影响已施用EAF钢渣的道路逃逸排放中锰浓度的统计学显著因素。这项研究表明，钢渣的应用会导致未铺砌道路上车辆交通产生的空气中灰尘中的锰含量升高。
