An environmental pollution study from multielemental analysis of pedestrian dust in Nagpur City, Central India

An instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) method has been used for the determination of 30 elements (Ag, As, Au, Ba, Br, Ce, Cr, Co, Cs, Cu, Eu, Fe, Ga, Hg, Hf, La, Lu, Mn, Na, P, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Yb and Zn) in 16 pedestrian dust samples collected from various industrial, commercial-residential, transport areas and highways of Nagpur city. Elemental concentrations of As, Ba, Br, Cr, Cu, Hg, Sb, Se and Zn were found to vary significantly depending on the sampling location. Large variations have been also observed for concentrations of As, Ba, Br, Ce, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, P, Th, Sb and Zn in dust samples from similar type of areas. A comparison of the elemental contents with local garden soils shows elevated levels of pollutants (As, Ba, Br, Cu, Sb and Se) in the pedestrian dust. Environmental implications of the elemental contents have been explained in terms of the possible sources of origin.