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Research Paper | Environmental Science Studies | Albania | Volume 4 Issue 2, February 2015

Total and Extractable Heavy Metals in Indoor and Street Dust in Elbasan city, Albania

Piro Karamelo

Abstract: The evaluation of air pollution in the city of Elbasan from heavy metal was conducted by analyzing their content in the dust composition deposited in apartments and on streets. Dust samples were taken in 10 different streets with different traffic levels and in 6 apartments near to these streets. A soil sample was also analyzed. In the three types of samples was determined the total and extractable content (soluble) for Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd, Fe and Li. After the pretreatment of the samples with two methods, the metal content was determined by the method of atomic absorption spectroscopy. The trace values of metals in dust appear relatively low, generally within EU norms. We can notice two groups based on the proportion of concentration- level of traffic at the sampling station. The first group which included Pb, Zn and Cu, which content are correlated with the level of traffic and the degree of urbanization and are considered as pollutant metals originating mainly from anthropogenic sources. The second group including Cr, Ni, Fe and Li, whose content in the samples taken at stations with various level of traffic or the degree of urbanization, results in minor changes of the case. These are considered as land metals, originating mainly from the soil surface. The concentrations of pollutants metals in dust samples of houses are generally higher than those of the dust of the streets. The rate of extraction according to the element Zn> Pb> Cu> Ni> Cr> Li> Fe, by type of sample, almost for all metals, follows this order indoor dust> street dust> ground dust. Correlations between Cu-Pb-Zn (r> 0.6) and Fe-Ni (r> 0.9) indicate the common origin.

Keywords: heavy metals, indoor dust, outdoor dust, air pollution

Edition: Volume 4 Issue 2, February 2015,

Pages: 133 - 139

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