Health Risk Assessments of Traffic EmissionsImpact on the Environment

This study aimed to evaluate the ecotoxicity of particulate matter emissions from vehicular activities.Plant (cashew) and atmospheric samples were collected from 22 locations along major roads in a Guinean forest-savanna region.Standard procedures were employed to analyze PTEs (Ni, Cd, As, Cu, Pb, Hg, and Zn), chlorophyll, and pH levels of the PM 2.5 and cashew leaves.The results demonstrated a significant impact of road-related emissions on the metals, chlorophyll, and pH levels in cashew leaves and PM 2.5 .The mean concentrations of As, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb, Hg, and Zn in the leaves were 0.155, 7.585, 9.432, 0.018, 5.171, 0.012, and 41.511 ppm, respectively.Similarly, the PTEs content in the PM 2.5 was 0.0468, 0.5086, 0.2056, 0.0013, 0.3700, 0.0006, and 0.5423 g/m 3 for As, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb, Hg, and Zn, respectively.Also, the pH and chlorophyll levels ranged from 5.75 to 8.19, and 1.88 to 2.94 mg/g, respectively.The non-carcinogenic health hazards (HI) and carcinogenic risk (TCR) values for the children and adult categories were 3.84 x10 -5 , 3.47 x10 -5 (HI), and 5.50 x10 -8 4.97 x10 -8 (TCR), respectively.The findings emphasize the urgent need for effective road management to mitigate environmental pollution caused by vehicular emissions.