ROAD DUST AND TRAFFIC-DERIVED NON-EXHAUST PARTICLES: A PRELIMINARY STUDY FOR THE CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Abstract

Road dust (RD) and traffic-related sources have recently been recognized as significant causes of environmental pollution in urban and coastal environments. As exhaust emission regulations for air quality have been strengthened in developed countries, non-exhaust emission (NEE) from transportation has been recognized as an important source of environmental pollution. In addition, the increase in the intensity and frequency of heavy and extreme rainfall due to climate change can significantly increase the marine inflow of RD and tire and road wear particles (TRWP) from urban impervious surfaces such as roads of cities and coastal infrastructure. Due to these effects, research on the environmental fate and risk of road dust and road traffic-related sources is expected to become more important shortly. Previous studies conducted in several coastal areas, including the Busan coast, showed that coastal sediment was contaminated with RD and TRWP. For environmental forensics and fate studies of RD and TRWP, Methods are needed to precisely identify and characterize individual road dust and TRWP in complex environmental samples. In this study, we collected RD and NEE derived such as TRWP (road-deposited sediment (RDS) and tire-derived wear particles (TWP)) and brake pad-derived wear particles (BWP) in Busan and attempted its chemical characterization with stable isotopes and potentially toxic elements (PTEs). This preliminary study shows that BWP and TWP contain high concentrations of PTEs, including Zn, Mn, Cu, Sb, and Cr. Accordingly, investigations on the impact of their input on the marine environment have been conducted. Although the health risks due to exposure through the food chain in the marine environment are currently unclear, the heavy metal profiles and stable isotope signatures analyzed in this study can be used as important chemical tracers to track their fate in the marine environment.