Trace Heavy Metal Levels in Street Dust Samples from Yozgat City Center, Turkey

Abstract The copper, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, manganese and cobalt contents of dust samples taken from Yozgat city center, Turkey were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after digestion with aqua regia. The highest levels of the trace metal ions in the streets with heavy traffic were noted. The lowest levels of the metal concentrations were found in the samples from hospital and health centers. The results found in the present study were compared with some cities around the world. The levels of the metal ions found were generally below the mean world-wide contents of the street dust samples. Correlations between heavy trace metal levels of the dust samples were also evaluated.