A comparative study of heavy metal concentration and distribution in deposited street dusts in a large and a small urban area: Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, UK

S. Charlesworth, M. Everett, R McCarthy, A Ordonez, E. de Miguel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

490 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Results are presented from a study of the distribution of heavy metals in street dusts of two cities in Midland England. The first (Birmingham) is a large urban area (population of 2.3 million), the second, Coventry, a small one (population of 0.3 million). Several trends were identified from Birmingham: higher concentrations were located near industrial areas in the northwest of the city and within the ring road. However, lower concentrations were found to the southwest in areas of mainly residential properties and parks. High values were also identified in association with junctions controlled by traffic lights where vehicles were likely to stop regularly. This last trend was further investigated in Coventry, where it was found that concentrations of heavy metals at junctions controlled by traffic signals and by pedestrian-controlled pelican lights (Mounted Pelican Controller, MPCs) were lower than those found in Birmingham, apart from Ni.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)563-573
Number of pages11
JournalEnvironment international
Volume29
Issue number5
Early online date12 Feb 2003
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2003

Keywords

  • Comparative study
  • Heavy metal concentration
  • Street dusts

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