Abstract
Pollution of urban soils with metals is of great concern worldwide owing to their persistent and nonbiodegradable nature. The current study investigated the presence and levels of some selected potentially toxic elements in the roadside soil dust samples collected from Fort Myers and surrounding communities. The study further assessed the pollution and geoaccumulation indexes for some of the potentially toxic elements and the potential health risk associated with it. Soil samples were collected from 24 locations in the area, taking into consideration proximity to highways, industrial areas, residential areas, and shopping malls. Samples were analyzed for potentially toxic metal contents using a microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer (MP‐AES). The result showed that Zn and Cu were higher in some of the selected sites than the allowable limit. Zn values ranged from 134.26 ± 14.70 mg/kg to 530.20 ± 201.70 mg/kg. The presence of Pb was also noted in all the samples, and the values ranged from 0.85 mg/kg to 33.03 mg/kg. Mn ranged from 26.79 ± 2.81 mg/kg to 347.42 ± 30.48 mg/kg, while Cu ranged from 2.44 ± 0.23 mg/kg to 172.30 ± 12.95 mg/kg. The highest concentration of Pb was reported from sites associated with vehicular emission. The pollution assessment index showed moderately polluted to polluted soil with Zn and Cu, and the geoaccumulation index results showed risk levels, from no pollution for Pb but extremely contaminated soils for Zn and Cu using the percentile suggested in a previous study. The highest EDI for both children and adults for Pb was recorded from children roadside Add ing with the value of 3.63 × 10 −5 ; for Cu, it was recorded from roadside Add ing with the value of 1.89 × 10 −4 ; and for Zn, it was recorded from car parking Add inh with the highest value of 5.81 × 10 −4 . The hazard quotient (HQ) for children and adults was all below 1, suggesting no potential health risk at this stage. Differences in the values recorded for all the trace metals analyzed were not statistically significant across the sites except for Zn in the current study ( p > 0.05). Since the study showed moderately polluted soil for Zn and Cu, it is therefore recommended that a continuous monitoring program should be in place to provide information on the levels of these trace metals from the study area. The current study provides baseline data on metal contamination in urban soils of Fort Myers, highlighting potential environmental and public health risks and the need for continuous monitoring to prevent long‐term exposure effects.