ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Concentration Level and Health Risk Assessment
of Heavy Metals in PM2.5 in Ambient Air of Makkah
City, Saudi Arabia
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1
Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics,
Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2
Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2021-11-29
Final revision date: 2022-03-08
Acceptance date: 2022-03-21
Online publication date: 2022-06-20
Publication date: 2022-09-01
Corresponding author
Mohammed Abdulaziz
Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2022;31(5):3991-4002
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ABSTRACT
Exposure to air pollution in general and Particulate Matter (PM) and its constituents, in particular,
can be extremely harmful to human health. Given the importance of PM and its constituents concerning
human health, this study aimed to evaluate the levels of PM2.5 and some HMs in the atmosphere of
Makkah City, Saudi Arabia, and assess the health risks associated with exposure to HMs. The 24-h
mean concentration of PM2.5 in Makkah city was 38.0±13.5 μg/m3 which exceeded the WHO air quality
guidelines and national ambient air quality standard of Saudi Arabia. The average concentrations of
HMs were Mn (54.3±13.3 ng/m3)>Pb (40.3±9.2 ng/m3)>As (27.8±4.1 ng/m3)>Ni (20.5±12.9 ng/m3)>
Cr (18.2±6.2 ng/m3)>Cd (13.0±3.1 ng/m3). The non-carcinogenic risks (non-CRs) and carcinogenic
risks (CRs) associated with exposure to measured HMs were analyzed using hazard quotient (HQ) and
incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), respectively. Arsenic was found to be the major contributor to
health risk and oral ingestion was found to be the most detrimental pathway of exposure to HMs. For
future research, it is recommended to evaluate the HMs and their health risks in various environmental
media in different Saudi cities.