What is it about?
This paper presents the outcomes of a wide-ranging study undertaken to: (1) investigate the influence of anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion on the risk posed by toxic pollutants; (2) enhance the risk model developed by the authors by taking anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion into consideration; (3) provide recommendations for managing the human health risk from toxic metals in stormwater.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Urban stormwater runoff carries numerous toxic chemical pollutants generated by anthropogenic activities common to urban areas. Presence of these chemical pollutants reduces the reuse potential of stormwater as an alternative water resource for recreational and potable proposes. The novelty of the research study is the enhancement of the existing model by considering the influence of qualitative factors such as anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion for assessing human health risk posed by TMs and PAHs in stormwater. The outcomes from the study are expected to contribute to strengthening the quantitative assessment and management of the potential human health risk posed by toxic pollutants present in urban stormwater.
Perspectives
The research study confirmed that anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion need to be taken into consideration to derive a more accurate understanding of the risk to human health from toxic pollutants in urban stormwater. Anthropogenic activities are an influential factor on the risk arising from pollutants in stormwater from commercial and residential areas. The commercial land use activities can be categorised into two main anthropogenic activities; motor vehicle related businesses; and retail, education, catering, hospitality and commercial offices. The former anthropogenic activities generate stormwater runoff with relatively higher risks from toxic pollutants than the latter. The residential land use activities also have two primary categories of anthropogenic activities, namely, residential activities mixed with commercial businesses and only residential activities.
Professor Ashantha Goonetilleke
Queensland University of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assessment and management of human health risk from toxic metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban stormwater arising from anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion, The Science of The Total Environment, February 2017, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.015.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
