Extremely high concentrations of zinc in birch tree leaves collected in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Zinc is an essential trace element and a vital microelement for human health. Zinc can be toxic when exposures exceed physiological needs. Toxic effects in humans are most evident from inhalation exposure to high concentrations of Zn compounds. Urban air pollution can be especially dangerous due to the Zn content in airborne dust. Tree leaves can absorb significant levels of zinc. In this study, leaf deposition of Zn was investigated in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Russian zinc production plant and metallurgical plant are located in Chelyabinsk. Extremely high concentrations of Zn (316-4000 mg kg-1) were found in the leaves of birch trees. It is well known that traffic also is Zn source in an urban environment. Trees, growing at the different distances from zinc production and metallurgical plants and road to identify the contribution of each source (road or industry), were studied. Through SEM analysis, the prevalence of small particulates (PM10 and less), containing Zn, illustrated leaf Zn deposition from the air by passing root accumulation. It was shown that emission of zinc production plant and the metallurgical plant is the main source of leaf Zn deposition in Chelyabinsk.

Elemental Composition of PM2.5 and PM10 and Health Risks Assessment in the Industrial Districts of Chelyabinsk, South Ural Region, Russia.

Air pollution impacts all populations globally, indiscriminately and has site-specific variation and characteristics. Airborne particulate matter (PM) levels were monitored in a typical industrial Russian city, Chelyabinsk in three destinations, one characterized by high traffic volumes and two by industrial zone emissions. The mass concentration and trace metal content of PM2.5 and PM10 were obtained from samples collected during four distinct seasons of 2020. The mean 24-h PM10 ranged between 6 and 64 µg/m3. 24-h PM2.5 levels were reported from 5 to 56 µg/m3. About half of the 24-h PM10 and most of the PM2.5 values in Chelyabinsk were higher than the WHO recommendations. The mean PM2.5/PM10 ratio was measured at 0.85, indicative of anthropogenic input. To evaluate the Al, Fe, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentration in PM2.5 and PM10, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used. Fe (337-732 ng/m3) was the most abundant component in PM2.5 and PM10 samples while Zn (77-206 ng/m3), Mn (10-96 ng/m3), and Pb (11-41 ng/m3) had the highest concentrations among trace elements. Total non-carcinogenic risks for children were found higher than 1, indicating possible health hazards. This study also presents that the carcinogenic risk for As, Cr, Co, Cd, Ni, and Pb were observed higher than the acceptable limit (1 × 10-6).

Road dust trace elements contamination, sources, dispersed composition, and human health risk in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

There are many sources of urban road dust, such as soil dispersal, emissions of industrial enterprises and thermal power plants, road traffic-related processes. Chelyabinsk was selected as a typical Russian industrial city. This work was the first pollution study of road dust in Chelyabinsk. We examined 125 road dust samples were on the content toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sr, and Zn). The concentrations of trace elements in road dust were determined using ICP-MS. Results showed that the metal concentrations in dust were higher than the background value of local soil. The distribution curves of dust were asymmetric, had have two peaks, and showed significant unimodal distribution. The higher share of particles was in the range from 30 … 40 to 250 … 300 µm. The thoracic fraction volume (%) and concentrations of trace elements were higher near metallurgical plants. Cadmium, Сu, Mn, Ni, Sr, Pb and Zn were originated from industry and transport; electrometallurgical plant was source of Cr; Al, Co, and Fe derived from local soils and pavement erosion; As, Hg and Sb were the tracers of coal-fired power stations emission. Ingestion was a major exposure way of toxic elements in the dust. The results suggested that there was no significant potential health risk to both children and adults from exposure to any elements in road dust. The cancer risk for adults and children from exposure to As, Cd, Cr, and Pb was found to be at the acceptable or tolerable level. The study deals with the contamination of potentially toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sr and Zn) in road dust collected from Chelyabinsk urban area.