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Review
. 2018 Apr 10:40:e2018013.
doi: 10.4178/epih.e2018013. eCollection 2018.

Road dust and its effect on human health: a literature review

Raihan K Khan  1 , Mark A Strand  2
Affiliations
Review

Road dust and its effect on human health: a literature review

Raihan K Khan et al. Epidemiol Health. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of road dust on human health. A PubMed search was used to extract references that included the words "road dust" and "health" or "fugitive dust" and "health" in the title or abstract. A total of 46 references were extracted and selected for review after the primary screening of 949 articles. The respiratory system was found to be the most affected system in the human body. Lead, platinum-group elements (platinum, rhodium, and bohrium), aluminum, zinc, vanadium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were the components of road dust that were most frequently referenced in the articles reviewed. Road dust was found to have harmful effects on the human body, especially on the respiratory system. To determine the complex mechanism of action of various components of road dust on the human body and the results thereof, the authors recommend a further meta-analysis and extensive risk-assessment research into the health impacts of dust exposure.

Keywords: Dust; Particulate matter; Respiratory system; Review literature as topic; Risk assessment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Flow chart of the selection of articles for inclusion in this review.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Location of the countries where the reviewed studies were conducted (red color indicates the countries).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
List of chemical analysis methods used.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Number of studies mentioning the effects of road dust on various organ systems.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Frequency of chemicals referenced.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Environmental Protection Agency Alaska native village air quality fact sheet series: road dust. 2010 [cited 2018 Apr 23]. Available from: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P1008ELK.PDF?Dockey=P1008ELK.PDF.
    1. Kentucky Division of Air Quality Fugitive dust. [cited 2018 Apr 23]. Available from: http://dca.ky.gov/DCA%20Resource%20Document%20Library/FugitiveDust.pdf.
    1. Environmental Protection Agency Particulate matter (PM) basics. [cited 2016 Jul 10]. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics#PM.
    1. Environmental Protection Agency NATA: glossary of terms. [cited 2016 Oct 30]. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/national-airtoxics-assessment/nata-glossary-terms.
    1. Environmental Protection Agency National air toxics assessment: glossary of terms. [cited 2018 May 12]. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/national-air-toxics-assessment/nata-glossaryterms.

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