Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Readily Wash-Off Road Dust and Associated Heavy Metals on Motorways

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Road dust contains a wide range of potentially health-hazardous pollutant sources. In this study, road dust samples were collected from nine locations along the Sydney orbital motorway during wet weather events and analysed for their mineralogy and heavy metal contents. The aim of this study was to examine for the specific particle size fractions in road dust samples that can be associated with anthropogenic pollutant sources, mainly on the prevalence of heavy metals. Surface morphological and elemental composition of the road dust particles was analysed using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). The heavy metal contents and degree of contamination were also investigated including in the two specific particle size fractions of <75 and 75–150 μm. It was found that the particle size fraction of <75 μm made up between 6 and 16% of the entire particle size distributions and contributed to more than 90% of the heavy metal contents. In addition, a moderate to high degree of heavy metal contamination was measured in the collected road dust samples, and this was correlated well with the local traffic volumes. The good correlation between heavy metals and traffic volumes in the finer road dust particle size fraction of <75 μm indicated that the finer road dust particles were not only important in terms of heavy metal attachment, accumulation and mobilisation during wet weather events but they could also provide evidence of potential anthropogenic pollution sources. These findings will facilitate our scientific understanding on the specific role and importance of particle size fractions on the mobilisation of pollutant sources, particularly heavy metals during wet weather events. It is anticipated that this study will assist in the development of best management practices for pollution prevention and control strategies on the frequency of road sweeping and retention pond design to trap fine road dust particles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adachi, K., & Tainosho, Y. (2004). Characterization of heavy metal particles embedded in tire dust. Environment International, 30, 1009–1017.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, F., Alastuey, A., De La Rosa, J., Sánchez De La Campa, A. M., Pandolfi, M., Lozano, A., Contreras González, J., & Querol, X. (2014). Trends of road dust emissions contributions on ambient air particulate levels at rural, urban and industrial sites in southern Spain. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 14, 3533–3544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andral, M., Roger, S., Montrejaud-Vignoles, M. & Herremans, L. (1999). ‘Particle size distribution and hydrodynamic characteristics of solid matter carried by runoff from motorways’, Water Environment Research, 398–407.

  • Arslan, H., & Gizir, A. M. (2004). Monitoring of heavy metal pollution of traffic origin in Adana. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 13, 361–365.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aryal, R. K., Furumai, H., Nakajima, F., & Boller, M. (2005). Dynamic behavior of fractional suspended solids and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in highway runoff. Water Research, 39, 5126–5134.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, G., & McCready, S. (2009). Catchment condition as a major control on the quality of receiving basin sediments (Sydney Harbour, Australia). Science of the Total Environment, 407, 2820–2835.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Charlesworth, S., Everett, M., McCarthy, R., Ordonez, A., & De Miguel, E. (2003). A comparative study of heavy metal concentration and distribution in deposited street dusts in a large and a small urban area: Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, UK. Environment International, 29, 563–573.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Charlesworth, S., & Lees, J. (1999). The distribution of heavy metals in deposited urban dusts and sediments, Coventry, England. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 21, 97–115.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., Xia, X., Zhao, Y., & Zhang, P. (2010). Heavy metal concentrations in roadside soils and correlation with urban traffic in Beijing, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 181, 640–646.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dannecker, W., Au, M., & Stechmann, H. (1990). Substance load in rainwater runoff from different streets in Hamburg. Science of the Total Environment, 93, 385–392.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duong, T. T., & Lee, B.-K. (2011). Determining contamination level of heavy metals in road dust from busy traffic areas with different characteristics. Journal of Environmental Management, 92, 554–562.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duzgoren-Aydin, N. S., Wong, C. S., Aydin, A., Song, Z., You, M. & Li, X. (2006). Heavy metal contamination and distribution in the urban environment of Guangzhou, SE China. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 28, 375–391.

  • EPA, U. (1996). ‘Method 3050B: acid digestion of sediments, sludges, and soils, revision 2’.

  • Ewen, C., Anagnostopoulou, M. A., & Ward, N. I. (2009). Monitoring of heavy metal levels in roadside dusts of Thessaloniki, Greece in relation to motor vehicle traffic density and flow. Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 157, 483–498.

  • Fang, S.-B., Hu, H., Sun, W.-C., & Pan, J.-J. (2011). Spatial variations of heavy metals in the soils of vegetable-growing land along urban-rural gradient of Nanjing, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8, 1805–1816.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Furumai, H., Balmer, H., & Boller, M. (2002). Dynamic behavior of suspended pollutants and particle size distribution in highway runoff. Water Science & Technology, 46, 413–418.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gjorgieva, D., Kadifkova Panovska, T., Ruskovska, T., Bačeva, K. & Stafilov, T. (2013). ‘Influence of heavy metal stress on antioxidant status and DNA damage in Urtica dioica’, BioMed Research International 2013.

  • Goonetilleke, A., Egodawatta, P., & Kitchen, B. (2009). Evaluation of pollutant build-up and wash-off from selected land uses at the Port of Brisbane, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 58, 213–221.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunawardana, C., Goonetilleke, A., Egodawatta, P., Dawes, L., & Kokot, S. (2012). Role of solids in heavy metals buildup on urban road surfaces. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 138, 490–498.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Herngren, L., Goonetilleke, A., & Ayoko, G. A. (2005). Understanding heavy metal and suspended solids relationships in urban stormwater using simulated rainfall. Journal of Environmental Management, 76, 149–158.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Herngren, L., Goonetilleke, A., & Ayoko, G. A. (2006). Analysis of heavy metals in road-deposited sediments. Analytica Chimica Acta, 571, 270–278.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, E. J., Mills, G. L., Latimer, J. S., & Quinn, J. G. (1984). Urban runoff as a source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to coastal waters. Environmental Science & Technology, 18, 580–587.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iwasaki, Y., Kagaya, T., Miyamoto, K. I., Matsuda, H., & Sakakibara, M. (2011). Effect of zinc on diversity of riverine benthic macroinvertebrates: estimation of safe concentrations from field data. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 30, 2237–2243.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeng, H. A. C., Englande, A. J., Bakeer, R. M., & Bradford, H. B. (2005). Impact of urban stormwater runoff on estuarine environmental quality. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 63, 513–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshi, U. M., Vijayaraghavan, K., & Balasubramanian, R. (2009). Elemental composition of urban street dusts and their dissolution characteristics in various aqueous media. Chemosphere, 77, 526–533.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kayhanian, M., Rasa, E., Vichare, A., & Leatherbarrow, J. E. (2008). Utility of suspended solid measurements for storm-water runoff treatment. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 134, 712–721.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X., Poon, C.-s., & Liu, P. S. (2001). Heavy metal contamination of urban soils and street dusts in Hong Kong. Applied Geochemistry, 16, 1361–1368.

  • Lim, D. I., Choi, J. W., Shin, H. H., Jeong, D. H., & Jung, H. S. (2013). Toxicological impact assessment of heavy metal contamination on macrobenthic communities in southern coastal sediments of Korea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 73, 362–368.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loska, K., Wiechulła, D., & Korus, I. (2004). Metal contamination of farming soils affected by industry. Environment International, 30, 159–165.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lough, G. C., Schauer, J. J., Park, J.-S., Shafer, M. M., DeMinter, J. T., & Weinstein, J. P. (2005). Emissions of metals associated with motor vehicle roadways. Environmental Science & Technology, 39, 826–836.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murakami, M., Nakajima, F., & Furumai, H. (2005). Size- and density-distributions and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban road dust. Chemosphere, 61, 783–791.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrove, V., & Hoffmann, A. (2003). Impact of urbanisation on heavy metal contamination in urban stream sediments: influence of catchment geology. Australasian Journal of Ecotoxicology, 9, 119–128.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Road &Maritime. (2012). ‘http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/about/corporate-publications/statistics/traffic-volumes/index.html’.

  • Roger, S., Montrejaud-Vignoles, M., Andral, M., Herremans, L., & Fortune, J. (1998). Mineral, physical and chemical analysis of the solid matter carried by motorway runoff water. Water Research, 32, 1119–1125.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sansalone, J. J., & Buchberger, S. G. (1997). Partitioning and first flush of metals in urban roadway storm water. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 123, 134–143.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sebbio, C., Carere, C., Nascetti, G., Bellisario, B., Mosesso, P., Cimmaruta, R., & Angeletti, D. (2014). Interspecies variation in DNA damage induced by pollution. Current Zoology, 60, 308–321.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sezgin, N., Ozcan, H. K., Demir, G., Nemlioglu, S. & Bayat, C. (2004). Determination of heavy metal concentrations in street dusts in Istanbul E-5 highway. Environmental International, 29, 979–985.

  • Sidhu, J. P. S., Ahmed, W., Gernjak, W., Aryal, R., McCarthy, D., Palmer, A., Kolotelo, P., & Toze, S. (2013). Sewage pollution in urban stormwater runoff as evident from the widespread presence of multiple microbial and chemical source tracking markers. Science of the Total Environment, 463–464, 488–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soupir, M. L., Mostaghimi, S., & Dillaha, T. (2010). Attachment of Escherichia coli and Enterococci to particles in runoff. Journal of Environmental Quality, 39, 1019–1027.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SydneyWater. (2010). https://www.sydneywater.com.au/Publications/Reports/AnnualReport/2010/performance/water_efficiency3.html.

  • Thorpe, A., & Harrison, R. M. (2008). Sources and properties of non-exhaust particulate matter from road traffic: a review. Science of the Total Environment, 400, 270–282.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tricklebank, K. (2001). Histological alterations in fish from Sydney reefs: possible biomarkers for environmental effects? Biomarkers, 6, 26–32.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vaze, J., & Chiew, F. H. (2004). Nutrient loads associated with different sediment sizes in urban stormwater and surface pollutants. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 130, 391–396.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vignoles, M. & Herremans, L. (1995) ‘Metal contamination in motorway surface runoff water’, Proc., Water Environmental Federation 68th Annual Conf. Exposition.

  • Weibel, S., Anderson, R. J., & Woodward, R. L. (1964). Urban land runoff as a factor in stream pollution. Journal Water Pollution Control Federation, 36, 914–924.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfram, G., Höss, S., Orendt, C., Schmitt, C., Adámek, Z., Bandow, N., Großschartner, M., Kukkonen, J. V. K., Leloup, V., López Doval, J. C., Muñoz, I., Traunspurger, W., Tuikka, A., Van Liefferinge, C., von der Ohe, P. C., & de Deckere, E. (2012). Assessing the impact of chemical pollution on benthic invertebrates from three different European rivers using a weight-of-evidence approach. Science of the Total Environment, 438, 498–509.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhai, Y., Xu, P., Ye, Y., Chen, H., Li, X., Zeng, G., & Li, C. (2015). Characteristic of road deposited sediments on the highway of Hunan, China. Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 14, 1059–1066.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L., & Liu, J. (2014). Relationships between ecological risk indices for metals and benthic communities metrics in a macrophyte-dominated lake. Ecological Indicators, 40, 162–174.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, M., Lu, X., Chen, H., Gao, P., & Fu, Y. (2015). Multi-element characterization and source identification of trace metal in road dust from an industrial city in semi-humid area of Northwest China. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 303, 637–646.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, H., Li, X., Wang, X., & Tian, D. (2010). Grain size distribution of road-deposited sediment and its contribution to heavy metal pollution in urban runoff in Beijing, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 183, 203–210.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, W., Bian, B., & Li, L. (2008). Heavy metal contamination of road-deposited sediments in a medium size city of China. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 147, 171–181.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Water Management and Reuse, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, 5095, SA, Australia

    Rupak Aryal

  2. Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, 5095, SA, Australia

    Simon Beecham

  3. Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, 5095, SA, Australia

    Binoy Sarkar

  4. School of Engineering and Advanced Engineering Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, DE 47500, Malaysia

    Meng Nan Chong

  5. UNSW Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Andrew Kinsela

  6. Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, City Campus, Broadway, Ultimo, 2007, NSW, Australia

    Jaya Kandasamy & Saravanamuth Vigneswaran

Authors
  1. Rupak Aryal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Simon Beecham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Binoy Sarkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Meng Nan Chong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Andrew Kinsela
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jaya Kandasamy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Saravanamuth Vigneswaran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rupak Aryal.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOCX 16 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Aryal, R., Beecham, S., Sarkar, B. et al. Readily Wash-Off Road Dust and Associated Heavy Metals on Motorways. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3178-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3178-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation