Origin and distribution of trace elements in the campus dust of Xi’an, China

Abstract

The concentrations of As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn in dust samples from kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, and universities in Xi'an City have been determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The element concentrations in dust samples collected from the campuses were higher than background levels, in particular for Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, Co, and Ba. Summary statistics and enrichment factors allowed for the differentiation between contributions from local soil and from anthropogenic sources. The results of a multivariate spatial correlation-principal component analysis demonstrated that metal concentrations could be related to natural and anthropogenic sources separately and in combination. Source apportionment based on multiple linear regression indicated that 67% of the trace elements could be ascribed to natural and traffic sources, 13% to industrial sources, 19% to construction activities, and an additional 1% to traffic and industrial sources.

Keywords:

• Trace elements
• dust
• quantitative analysis
• MULTISPATI-PCA
• multiple linear regression

Acknowledgments

Yuyu Chang, Tianning Gao, Guang Yang, and Caifeng Zhao assisted with sample collection and preparation. We thank local school authorities for their cooperation.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding sources had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data or the writing of the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through Grant 41271510 and 41701003, Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation through Grant 2018JQ4028, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation through Grant 2015M582605, Shaanxi Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the Foundation Research Funds for the Central University through Grant GK201905001.