The impact of traffic emissions on the environment close to an arterial road often is assessed on the basis of heavy metal pollution of road dust collected directly from or close to the road surface. In our work we propose an assessment of a potential environmental hazard on the basis of an analysis of the content of heavy metals in the road dust trapped on vertical acoustic barriers installed directly by roads.
This kind of road dust appeared to be a good indicator of traffic related to heavy metals emissions. The pollution level of Cu and Zn reached the category of “extreme level.” An increased level of Cu was found on a decelerating activity section. A good correlation between Cu, Mn, and Fe may imply that brake wear is also an important source of iron and manganese. It has been shown that high concentration of Zn is a result of its release from zinc-plated road furniture.