Sources and a Health Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Dust at Children’s Playgrounds with Artificial Surfaces: A Case Study in Belgrade

The focus of this research on children’s playgrounds with artificial surfaces aimed to establish levels of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in dust, their origin, and impact on children at 15 playgrounds: 9 on school grounds and 6 on day nurseries in Belgrade (Serbia). Soil samples were taken from the immediate vicinity of the playgrounds to establish the origin of PTEs in the dust samples. Soil analyses revealed the lithogenic origin of Co, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn and the anthropogenic origin of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. However, in the dust samples, the origin of the elements was different with As, Co, Fe, and Mn originating from the surrounding soil; Cr and Ni levels affected by both atmospheric deposition and the surrounding soil; Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations impacted by atmospheric deposition; and Cu levels affected by factors of a local character. No noncancer risk was found for any of the individual elements investigated, nor for any of the playgrounds being studied, while a minimal cancer risk was found from As with values greater than 1E−6 at almost all the sites. Based on the results obtained for the spatial distribution of individual PTE levels, it was determined that the surrounding soil and atmospheric deposition have an almost equal impact on noncancer risk values