Platinum, palladium and rhodium in road dust/top soils from major south Indian cities: Implications on environment and human health

Abstract

Pt, Pd and Rh emitted into the air through the exhausts of cars and trucks collected from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam cities of south India were assessed in the context of their accumulation and resultant risks on human health and ecology.Apart from road dusts, respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) samples from these three cities were collected and studied.Road dust and top soil samples from road junctions and traffic signals with heavy and erratic traffic flow showed higher PGE levels than those from roads with low and free flow traffic suggesting that traffic flow conditions greatly influenced emissions of PGE from the auto-catalysts.Further studies on the exposure levels from Hyderabad, showed higher amounts of Pt, Pd and Rh in the blood samples of older people (for example, traffic police) who are exposed to extreme traffic conditions.Owing to the adverse health and ecological risk potential of PGE on humans, monitoring their levels, understanding the transformation paths and to find out mitigation methods are necessary.