Contamination assessment of copper, lead, zinc, manganese and nickel in street dust of Baoji, NW China

Street dusts collected from Baoji, NW China were analyzed for Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn and Ni by using PANalytical PW-2403 wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and assessed the contamination level of heavy metals on the basis of geoaccumulation index (I(geo)), enrichment factor (EF), pollution index (PI) and integrated pollution index (IPI). The results indicate that, in comparison with Chinese soil, street dusts in Baoji have elevated metal concentrations as a whole. The concentrations of heavy metals investigated in this paper are compared with the reported data of other cities. The calculated results of I(geo) and EF of heavy metals reveal the order of I(geo) and EF are Pb>Zn>Cu>Ni>Mn. The high I(geo) and EF for Pb, Zn and Cu in street dusts indicate that there is a considerable Pb, Zn and Cu pollution, which mainly originate from traffic and industry activities. The I(geo) and EF of Mn and Ni are low and the assessment results indicate an absence of distinct Mn and Ni pollution in street dusts. The assessment results of PI also support Pb, Zn and Cu in street dusts presented serious pollution, and IPI indicates heavy metals of street dust polluted seriously.