The influence of site, bulk metal composition and individual particle structure on bioaccessibility of road dust

The impact of urban air quality on human health is of worldwide concern and responsible for 40,000 early deaths in the U.K. alone. Industry’s relocation to suburban areas, caused vehicle tailpipe emissions to become the largest air pollution contributor. Although new fuels, engine modifications, legislation and improved urban planning, resulted in pollutant reductions, air quality remains a concern. To that end, resuspended road dust (RD) has been identified as one of the largest contributors to urban airborne particulate matter (PM). This study focused on potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in RD (specifically Cr, Cu, Fe and Pb) to investigate their health hazards associated with chronic exposure to urban RD. The study required seasonal collections of RD from an urban site in Manchester, U.K. over a two-year period. Total Cr, Cu, Fe and Pb concentrations in the fine fractions (