Heavy Metals Contents of PM10in Ambient Air of Ahvaz City, Iran

Ahvaz as the focal point of south western of Iran has impressed by Middle East Dust (MED) storms which has originated from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and also Africa. The main objective of this study was to evaluate heavy metals contents of PM10during normal and dust event days in Ahvaz. High volume sampler device was selected to take sample at a high traffic area of the city. Result showed that during dust event days, the average concentrations of PM10were 300 and 278 μgm-3in the spring and summer, while during normal days, the corresponding values were 145 and 126, respectively. Findings of enrichment factors indicated that Al with low enrichment factor had crustal origin, whereas Pb and Zn with high EF had anthropogenic sources such as transportation as well as industrial emissions. In present study, the concentrations of PM10were higher than the standard values.