Evaluation of Health Risk from Concentrations of Heavy Metal in PM-10 and PM-2.5 particles at Sasang Industrial Complex of Busan, Korea

Abstract

We investigated the distribution of hazardous heavy metals (As, Cr6+, Ni, Cd, Pb, and Mn) and estimated the health risk related to the heavy metals in fine dust (PM-10 and PM-2.5) of Sasang industrial complex, Busan, Korea. The concentration of fine dust in the industrial complex was 1.2 times higher than in a residential area, while harmful heavy metals showed a difference of at least 1.3 times (Cd) and up to 6.5 times (Ni). The concentration of fine dust and carcinogenic heavy metals in the industrial complex increased significantly compared to the residential area in spring (March to May) and winter (December to February) months. A risk assessment was performed using Monte-Carlo simulations containing a four-step procedure. During hazard identification, As, Cr6+ Ni, Cd, and Pb were categorized as human carcinogens and probable human carcinogens and evaluated for their levels of excess cancer risk. For concentrations of over 90% Cr6+ and As, the excess cancer risk was over 10-5 (1 person per 100,000). The non-cancer hazard index of As, Cr6+, Cd, and Mn was below the limit value of 1.