Potential health risks of inhaled toxic elements and risk sources during different COVID-19 lockdown stages in Linfen, China.
Environ Pollut
; 284: 117454, 2021 Sep 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34062435
ABSTRACT
Levels of toxic elements in ambient PM2.5 were measured from 29 October 2019 to 30 March 2020 in Linfen, China, to assess the health risks they posed and to identify critical risk sources during different periods of the COVID-19 lockdown and haze episodes using positive matrix factorization (PMF) and a health-risk assessment model. The mean PM2.5 concentration during the study period was 145 µg/m3, and the 10 investigated toxic elements accounted for 0.31% of the PM2.5 mass. The total non-cancer risk (HI) and total cancer risk (TCR) of the selected toxic elements exceed the US EPA limits for children and adults. The HI for children was 2.3 times that for adults for all periods, which is likely due to the high inhalation rate per unit body weight for children. While the TCR for adults was 1.7 times that of children, which is mainly attributed to potential longer exposure duration for adults. The HI and TCR of the toxic elements during full lockdown were reduced by 66% and 58%, respectively, compared to their pre-lockdown levels. The HI and TCR were primarily attributable to Mn and As, respectively. Health risks during haze episodes were significantly higher than the average levels during COVID-19 lockdowns, though the HI and TCR of the selected toxic elements during full-lockdown haze episodes were 68% and 17% lower, respectively, than were the levels during pre-lockdown haze episodes. During the study period, fugitive dust and steel-related smelting were the highest contributors to HI and TCR, respectively, and decreased in these emission sources contributed the most to the lower health risks observed during the full lockdown. There, the control of these sources is critical to effectively reduce public health risks.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Contaminantes Atmosféricos
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Pollut
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article