Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico

Abstract Particle emissions from vehicular traffic are one of the main sources of heavy metals in cities. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, mobility was reduced, which created the opportunity to measure baseline heavy metal pollution in cities. Citizens took urban dust samples at 25 sites inside and ou...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lucía Reyes, M. Ángeles Gallegos, Avto Gogichaishvili, Joaquín Aguilar, Francisco Bautista
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-04-01
Series:Discover Environment
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00242-6
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849700213198946304
author Lucía Reyes
M. Ángeles Gallegos
Avto Gogichaishvili
Joaquín Aguilar
Francisco Bautista
author_facet Lucía Reyes
M. Ángeles Gallegos
Avto Gogichaishvili
Joaquín Aguilar
Francisco Bautista
author_sort Lucía Reyes
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Particle emissions from vehicular traffic are one of the main sources of heavy metals in cities. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, mobility was reduced, which created the opportunity to measure baseline heavy metal pollution in cities. Citizens took urban dust samples at 25 sites inside and outside their homes, with four repetitions; 159 urban dust samples were analyzed. The elements analyzed with FRX equipment in triplicate were Mn, Ni, Cu, Pb, Rb, Sr, Y, Zn, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Zr, Nb, Sn, Sb, V and Ag. The contamination factor and health risk indices were calculated, and the most contaminated sites were geographically identified. The highest average values for the contamination factor were those of copper, vanadium, and zinc. The other metals presented moderate contamination. The extreme contamination cases with values higher than CF > 6 were Cu indoors, Mn outdoors, Pb indoors, and Ni, V, and Zn in both cases. The health risk index, no danger was observed in adults and children. However, sites 2 and 6, located in the east and southeast of the city, were the most contaminated outdoors, while indoors, they were sites 1 and 20 in the southwest and west, respectively. The results of this study carried out under low mobility conditions allowed the identification of two possible background levels for heavy metals: (a) the first decile and (b) the median value of the concentrations of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, V and Zn, for tourist cities and industrial cities in karst areas.
format Article
id doaj-art-a42b6a8bdf524adf8235bd8273a7d65b
institution DOAJ
issn 2731-9431
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Discover Environment
spelling doaj-art-a42b6a8bdf524adf8235bd8273a7d65b2025-08-20T03:18:22ZengSpringerDiscover Environment2731-94312025-04-013111310.1007/s44274-025-00242-6Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from MexicoLucía Reyes0M. Ángeles Gallegos1Avto Gogichaishvili2Joaquín Aguilar3Francisco Bautista4Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad Morelia, UNAM, MexicoLaboratorio Universitario de Geofísica Ambiental del Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoLaboratorio Universitario de Geofísica Ambiental del Instituto de Geofísica, Unidad Michoacán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoUniversidad del OrienteLaboratorio Universitario de Geofísica Ambiental del Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoAbstract Particle emissions from vehicular traffic are one of the main sources of heavy metals in cities. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, mobility was reduced, which created the opportunity to measure baseline heavy metal pollution in cities. Citizens took urban dust samples at 25 sites inside and outside their homes, with four repetitions; 159 urban dust samples were analyzed. The elements analyzed with FRX equipment in triplicate were Mn, Ni, Cu, Pb, Rb, Sr, Y, Zn, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Zr, Nb, Sn, Sb, V and Ag. The contamination factor and health risk indices were calculated, and the most contaminated sites were geographically identified. The highest average values for the contamination factor were those of copper, vanadium, and zinc. The other metals presented moderate contamination. The extreme contamination cases with values higher than CF > 6 were Cu indoors, Mn outdoors, Pb indoors, and Ni, V, and Zn in both cases. The health risk index, no danger was observed in adults and children. However, sites 2 and 6, located in the east and southeast of the city, were the most contaminated outdoors, while indoors, they were sites 1 and 20 in the southwest and west, respectively. The results of this study carried out under low mobility conditions allowed the identification of two possible background levels for heavy metals: (a) the first decile and (b) the median value of the concentrations of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, V and Zn, for tourist cities and industrial cities in karst areas.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00242-6ContaminationToxic elementsUrban environmentLow mobilityHealth risk
spellingShingle Lucía Reyes
M. Ángeles Gallegos
Avto Gogichaishvili
Joaquín Aguilar
Francisco Bautista
Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico
Discover Environment
Contamination
Toxic elements
Urban environment
Low mobility
Health risk
title Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico
title_full Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico
title_fullStr Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico
title_full_unstemmed Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico
title_short Diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the COVID- 19 pandemic in a tourist city from Mexico
title_sort diagnosis of heavy metals in urban dust during the covid 19 pandemic in a tourist city from mexico
topic Contamination
Toxic elements
Urban environment
Low mobility
Health risk
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-025-00242-6
work_keys_str_mv AT luciareyes diagnosisofheavymetalsinurbandustduringthecovid19pandemicinatouristcityfrommexico
AT mangelesgallegos diagnosisofheavymetalsinurbandustduringthecovid19pandemicinatouristcityfrommexico
AT avtogogichaishvili diagnosisofheavymetalsinurbandustduringthecovid19pandemicinatouristcityfrommexico
AT joaquinaguilar diagnosisofheavymetalsinurbandustduringthecovid19pandemicinatouristcityfrommexico
AT franciscobautista diagnosisofheavymetalsinurbandustduringthecovid19pandemicinatouristcityfrommexico