International Conference on Global Trends in Engineering, Technology and Management (ICGTETM-2016)
Impact of Accumulation of Roadside Dust on Roadside Plants
of Metropolis, Maharashtra and Madyapradesh, India
R.B. Borse#1
#
Nagnath Art, Commerce and Science College, Aundha (Nag.) Dist. Hingoli (MS.), India
Abstract — Studies on the concentration of lead in
roadway dust and roadside plants from the metropolis
of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Indor Madyapradesh,
have shown that enrichment of dust and plants with
lead is closely related to the density of vehicular
traffic. The areas with higher density of vehicular
traffic have shown higher concentration of lead in the
roadway dust during both the pre-monsoon and post
monsoon season. However the dust collected during
the post monsoon period shown relatively lower
concentration of lead than that from the dust collected
pre-monsoon period. This is mainly due to the
dissolution of lead compounds during the rainy spells.
On the contrary, higher concentration of lead in road
plant has been observed during post monsoon period.
This may be due to vigorous growth of plants during
the rainy season and uptake of lead along with other
plants nutritions.
Keywords — Environment, Roadway dust, Roadside
plants, Mumbai, Dhule, Indor
INTRODUCTION
Industrialization in the developing country like India
has accelerated the process of urbanization and thus
the inevitable increase in the pollination as people
started migrating to the industrial and urban centres.
The urban environment has now become a receptors
of large quantity of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes
that may contain a variety of toxic materials including
heavy material like Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, etc. The airborne
dust from the industrial fallout and automobile
exhaust containing these heavy metals may be inhaled
by animals and human being or it may get deposited
on the vegetables and other edible material or may be
contaminate drinking water
and food products,
ultimately causing serious health hazards. Amongst
heavy metals lead in the most hazardous and
potentially harmful element to living being. It is toxic
to human being even at very low level (0.3 mg/kg) if
present in blood. Its higher concentration in blood
(>0.8 mg/kg) lead to hematological damages and
disfungtion of kidneys (De, 1989). Lead also act as a
neurotoxin leading to disfungtion of brain and later
complete damage to the brain (Duggan,1980). The
introduction of lead into the food chain, therefore, has
been a matter of great human concern.
It has been established that lead in the urban
environment is mainly released from the automobile
ISSN: 2231-5381
exhaust (Albasel and Cottenie, 1985; Father and Cross,
1978). In view of this, the authors have undertaken
studies on the heavy metal concentration in the
roadway dust and road side plants from the Metropolis
of Mumbai and Indor which has become one of the
fast growing urban and industrial centrals of India
during the last couple of decades. In present paper
attempt has been made to access the concentration of
lead in roadway dust and roadside plants and its
relation to the traffic density.
Material and Methods
On the basis of density of vehicle traffic, sampling
stations were the selected for the collection of
roadway dust and roadside plant material. In order to
understand the seasonal variations, if any, in the
distribution of heavy metal, samples of both the
roadway dust and roadside plants ware collected
during the pre-monsoon and post monsoon period.
The dust samples were collected manually in clean
polythene bag from the areas close to the roadside. As
the heavy metals preferably occurs in the finest
fractions (DeGroot and Allersma, 1975), the dust
samples were sieved to obtained the finest function
(<20 micron). A known amount of oven dried finest
fraction of dust was acid digested as per the procedure
details by Albasel and Cottenie (1985) and analysed
on
a
1215
Varian
Atomic
Absorption
Spectrophotometer.
The plant sample, especially the leaves of most
common trees, herbs, shrubs, weeds and grasses, were
collected in clean polythene bags. From the plants
growing close to the roadside. The leaf sample were
first washed with tab water then with the distilled
water to remove all the dust that may be deposited on
their surfaces. The plant leaves were dried at 65 0c
temperature in an oven. The oven dried plant material
was then digested in a triacid mixture of sulphuric,
nitric and perchloric acids as per the procedure given
by Ihnat (1982) and analyzed on a 1215 Varian
Atomic Abortion Spectrophotometer.
Result and Discussion
A variety of potential toxic trace elements occurs in
the aerosles and dust deposited along the roadways
especially in the urban areas (Hopke et al, 1980). It
has also been established that their does exist A close
correlation between the enrichment of roadway dust
with trace elements like Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, etc. and the
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International Conference on Global Trends in Engineering, Technology and Management (ICGTETM-2016)
emission of fumes and smoke from industrial plants
and automobile exhaust ((Pacyna, 1987; Ellis and
Revitt, 1982). It has further been shown that the
concentration of lead in roadway dust increase with
the increase in traffic density (Brown, 1986; patil and
Gadgil, 1998; Khndelkar et al, 1980).the metropolis of
Mumbai, one of the fast growing urban and industrial
centre of India, has very high traffic density (Oatil,
1990). It is therefore, obvious that the vehicle traffic
must have made a tremendous impact on the
environment of Metropolis of Mumbai during the last
couple of decades. This is evident from the data on the
concentration of lead in the roadway dust and roadside
plants. It is observed that higher concentration of lead
in roadway dust collected during the both the premonsoon and post monsoon season, is recollected
atIndor, Mhow, Jalwanal, Dhule, Malegaon, Nasik,
khardi, Thane and Mumbai. This has been due to the
higher density of vehicular traffic as these places,
through situation in the outskirts of the Metropolis of
Mumbai, are located on the important national
highway connecting Indor with the cities of Thane,
Igatpuri, Nasik, Malegaon, Dhule, and Sendhwa .
the dilution effect following is the rainy season or it
may be due to changes in metrological factors
including wind velocity, wind direction, humidity and
temperature that control the rate of precipitation of
lead compound released from the vehicular exhaust
(Farmer and Cross 1978; Ellis and Revitt, 1982;
Albasel and Cottenie, 1985).
From the data of the concentration of lead in roadside
plants, it is observed that the Azadirachta indica from
the Thane area of Mumbai has highest levels of lead
concentration (Pre-monsoon: 200 mg/kg; post
monsoon 1420 mg/kg), it is further seen that some
plants have higher concentration of lead irrespective
of the density of vehicular traffic. In this regards, it is
seen that the Mangifera indica from the Bhiwandi area,
whether there is low concentration of lead in roadway
dust (Pre-monsoon and post monsoon 200 mg/kg) has
shown higher lead concentration (600 mg/kg) in its
leaves during the both pre-monsoon and postmonsoons. Similarly, the Bougainvillea spectabilis,
Anona squamosa and Parthenium hysterophorus from
different part of the Metropolis of Bhiwandi
exhibiting wide ranges in the lead concentration in the
The railway dust from Igatpuri shows highest roadway dusts, have shown different levels of lead
concentration of lead (premonsoon: 630 mg/kg; post concentration. It is, therefore, clear that the
monsoon: 625 mg/kg) as it is located at the junction of accumulation of lead in plants seems to be governed
Igatpuri and Nasik National Highway which have very by the factors like type of vegetation, cellular structure
high vehicular traffic. Similar result have been of leaves and various other morphological and
obtained from the roadway dusts from Khardi physiological characteristics of plants. It is for this
(preomonsoon: 330 mg.kg; post monsoon : 330 mg/kg) reason that the various species of grasses, weeds,
on the Mumbai Nasik National Highway. Pddli (Pre- herbs shrubs and trees, irrespective of traffic density,
monsoon: 330 mg/kg; post monsoon 320mg/kg) on have exhibited different leaves of lead concentration
the Nasik National Highway from the Pimpagaon in them.
(Pre-monsoon: 107 mg/kg; post monsoon 100 mg/kg)
on the Dhule National Highway. It has further been There has also been A wide variety in the
observed that the areas like the Sogir (Pre-monsoon: concentration of lead in plants during the pre200 mg/kg and post monsoon 145 mg/kg) and monsoon and post monsoons, the latter invariably
Dahibad (Pre-monsoon 70 mg/kg and post monsoon showing higher level of lead in plants. In some cases,
65 mg/kg) from the heart of city with higher density of e.g. Tabernaemontana coronaria, Bougainvillea
City traffic, shows higher concentration of lead in the spectabilis, Boerhavia diffusa, Cynodon dactylon,
road in the roadway dust. The outskirt of the Azadirachta indica, etc. there has been many fold
Metropolis of Indor with relatively lower traffic increase in lead concetrationduring the post monsoon
density and the open space like Nasik Railway station period (Table1). The increase levels of lead following
located in the heart of the city with higher traffic the rainy season can be co-related with various rate of
density, shows lower level of lead concentration in growth of vegetation during the rainy season and
roadway dust. This may be due to dispersion of uptake of heavy metals including lead through
particular matter released from the automobile exhaust absorption by their roots. The lead from automobile
by wind and periodical sweeping up of the roads. Data exhaust is primarily in particulate from as PbBrCl and
on the concentration of lead in the roadway dust from ammonium chloride complex of this compound
various places in around the Metropolis of Nasik and (Farmer and Cross, 1978), which subsequently gets
Mumbai, thus, indicate there has been close deposited along roadways. These water soluble
correspondence between the concentration of lead and compound of lead, deposited along with the roadway
density of vehicular traffic.
dust during the pre-monsoon season, eventually find
their way down to the soil water or the ground water
It has also been observed that the roadway dust during the rainy season (Ellis and Revitt, 1982) and
collected during the pre monsoon period shows higher subsequentlyts, these can be absorbed by plant roots
concentration of lead at many places, while those along with other plant nutricents. It is also possible
collected during the post monsoon period show low that lead compounds can be directly absorbed from the
concentration of lead in them. This can be attributed to air by plant leaves. In this regards, it has been pointed
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International Conference on Global Trends in Engineering, Technology and Management (ICGTETM-2016)
out by Purvis(1977) that the lead compounds in
particulate from deposited on the leaf surface can be
absorbed by the plant leaves through their stomata.
However, it is very difficult to distinguish between
accumulation of lead in the green parts of the plants
by root uptake or by foliar absorption from the air
(Albasel and Cottenic, 1985; Hibben et al, 1984)
Lead in the roadway dust and roadside plants
can also be due to its release from the lead
bearing minerals and rocks. Lead occurs as a
trace element (6 mg/kg) in the basalts from the
area in and around Nasik, which is far lower
than its concentration in the dust and plant
samples.
show low concentration of lead in them. This can be
attributed to the dilution effect following is the rainy
season or it may be due to changes in metrological
factors including wind velocity, wind direction,
humidity and temperature that control the rate of
precipitation of lead compound released from the
vehicular exhaust.
Table 1: Lead in roadway dust and roadside plants
from the Metropolis of Indor, Nasik and Mumbai.
Pb in dust
Sr.
No.
Name of
Locality
Pb in plants
Premonsoo
n
Postmonsoon
Premonsoon
Postmonsoon
1
Indor
140
135
125
130
2
Mhow
220
215
180
200
3
Gujri
435
430
100
120
4
Khalghat
80
79
40
180
5
Thikri
380
280
180
200
6
Jalwanala
213
210
160
180
7
Sendhwa
145
125
120
180
8
Sangvi
410
135
380
380
9
Dahibad
70
65
170
190
10
Sogir
200
195
460
800
11
Dhule
220
219
180
560
12
Arvi
400
390
180
580
13
Malegaon
340
335
80
1200
14
Umbrane
75
75
200
640
15
Pimpalga
on
107
100
340
680
16
Nashik
749
690
200
1600
17
Padli
330
320
620
580
Conclusion
18
Igatpuri
630
625
620
820
A variety of potential toxic trace elements
occurs in the aerosles and dust deposited along
the roadways especially in the urban areas. This
is due to emission of fumes and smoke from
industrial plants and automobile exhaust, it is
increase with increase of traffic and industrial
smoke. This is also concluded that higher
concentration of lead at many places, while
those collected during the post monsoon period
19
Khardi
230
230
1580
1660
20
Shahpur
350
330
440
580
21
Bhiwandi
450
235
200
600
22
Thane
720
710
200
1420
23
Mumbai
630
520
140
280
From the foregoing discussion it is certain
that the roadway dust and roadside plants have
become enriched with lead released from the
vehicular exhaust. Apart from this, narrow
streets causing slow down of vehicular traffic
jams, may have contributed to the higher
concentration of lead in the roadway dust and
road side plants in densely builtup areas,
especially in the heart of the Nasik city. The
roadway dust and roadside plants in the
majority of urban areas of developed countries
like U.S.A., U.K., Germany, etc., show higher
levels of lead with concentration typically of
the order of 1000 to 4000 mg/kg (De, 1989).
The lead released from the automobile exhaust
enters into the food-chain. It has been estimated
that on an average 200 to 300µg lead is
consumed daily through diet by a city dweller.
Further, about 10 to 15µg of lead enters daily
into the human body through air and water.
However, most of the lead consumed by a city
dweller is excreted. Due to chemical anology of
lead with calcium, bones act as repositories for
lead, and therefore, about 25µg of lead is stored
in the bones each day (De, 1989). Lead being
highly toxic, its accumulation in human body
may lead to a variety of health hazards in a fast
growing city like Thane. Hence, it would be
appropriate to take adequate measures instantly
to avoid further deterioration of the urban
environment.
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Name of
plants
Parthenium
hysterophorus
Parthenium
hysterophorus
Gymnosporia
montana
Anona
squamosa
Lantana
camera
Morinda
tinctoria
Mangifera
indica
Hardwickia
binata
Mangifera
indica
Bauhinia
racemosa
Terminalia
arjuna
Acacia
Arabica
Terminalia
belerica
Cordia
dichotoma
Zizyphus
maurtiana
Tamarindus
indica
Acacia
leucocephala
Sacopetalum
Syzygium
cumini
Acacia
catechu
Eucalyptus
sp.
Azadirachta
indica
Melia dubia
International Conference on Global Trends in Engineering, Technology and Management (ICGTETM-2016)
(Concentration in mg/kg)
[13]
Graph No. 1: National Highway No. 3, AgraMumbai (Showing Locality Between Indor to Mumbai) [14]
[15]
87. (ed.) T. C. Huchinson and K. M. Meena. John Wiley
and Sons, New York.
Patil, P. N. 1990. Environment Pollution in Pune city.
Unpolished M. Phil. Dissertation, University of Poona,
Pune, p. 80.
Patil, P. N. and Gadgil Alaka. 1988. Environment lead
distribution in relation to road dust sample in and around
Pune. Trans. Inst. India Geographers, 10: 65-67
Purvis, D. 1977. Trace Element Contamination of the
Environment . Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co.,
Amsterda
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