IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i1p79-d1316303.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unveiling Heavy Metal Links: Correlating Dust and Topsoil Contamination in Vilnius Schools

Author

Listed:
  • Murat Huseyin Unsal

    (Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Gytautas Ignatavičius

    (Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Vaidotas Valskys

    (Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
    Nature Research Centre, Laboratory of Climate and Water Research, Akademijos St. 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania)

Abstract

This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of the presence of heavy metals, specifically zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As), in dust samples collected from 24 schools in Vilnius during the year 2022. It compares these findings with topsoil data from prior investigations spanning from 2011 to 2023, obtained from the areas near the schools as well as multiple spots across Vilnius. The study reveals significant variations in the levels of heavy metals, providing a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between urban sources of pollution, environmental processes, and the correlation between soil and indoor dust pollution. An important aspect of this work is the application of principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering on the datasets from 2017 and 2020, which unveiled separate clusters from both dust and soil samples. Three major clusters were identified, highlighting the dynamic character of heavy metal distribution in these environments. Pearson’s correlation analysis provided additional evidence, demonstrating significant relationships between specific heavy metals in both dust and soil samples, emphasizing the interlinked nature of these environments. Zinc (Zn) and Lead (Pb) were determined to be the most commonly found heavy metals in the dust samples, which could potentially pose a health hazard in educational environments. This study distinguishes itself by examining indoor dust in educational facilities and topsoil in Vilnius, providing crucial insights into the relationship between these two environmental matrices. Recognizing the geographical limitations of this study, further research could be expanded to other cities to validate and compare these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Murat Huseyin Unsal & Gytautas Ignatavičius & Vaidotas Valskys, 2024. "Unveiling Heavy Metal Links: Correlating Dust and Topsoil Contamination in Vilnius Schools," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:1:p:79-:d:1316303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/79/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/79/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:1:p:79-:d:1316303. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.