Assessment of human health risks associated with airborne arsenic, nickel and lead exposure in particulate matter from vehicular sources in Sao Paulo city

ABSTRACT

Air pollution is a critical public health concern. The present study assessed the risk to human health of airborne Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) arsenic, nickel and lead exposure in particulate matter (PM_10–2.5) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Statistical analysis was performed using R Software and the risk assessment for human health was carried out according to the methods of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The results for mean annual concentration of PTE (ng m⁻³) were within the limits stipulated for air-quality by international agencies (arsenic <6, nickel <20 and lead <150). Airborne arsenic and lead showed higher mean concentrations during the winter than the other seasons (p < 0.05). However, the results showed a greater health risk for the adult population and during the winter season. These findings highlight the importance of air pollution as a risk factor for population health.

KEYWORDS:

• Risk assessment
• human health
• air pollution
• particulate matter
• potentially toxic elements

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their thanks to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the financial support granted to conduct this study, through Process no.14907320194, and also to the Departamento de Saúde Ambiental da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo (FSP-USP). The authors also thank the CETESB (www.cetesb.sp.gov.br) for providing access to their data sets.

Author contributions

Kamila de Almeida Piai: Investigation, Writing – original draft, Methodology, Formal analysis. Thiago Nogueira: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – review & editing. Kelly Polido Kaneshiro Olympio: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. Adelaide Cassia Nardocci: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing.

Ethical approval

The authors declare that this research did not involve human participants and/or animals.

Availability of data and materials

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Material (S).

Consent to Participate and Publish

The authors consented to participate in and publish this study in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2023.2173153.

Additional information

Funding

The authors extend their thanks to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and also to the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) for the financial support granted to conduct this study. KAP was recipients of a scholarship (CAPES, Process n⁰. 14907320194) and KPKO was recipients of the grants (FAPESP, Grants #2018/18391-0 and CNPq, Grants #314637/2021-4).