Abstract
Element concentrations in house dust samples collected from 10 households in Metropolitan Tokyo, Japan, were measured with ICP atomic emission spectrometry and ICP mass spectrometry to obtain general information on elemental composition of house dust in Japan as well as to get an insight into the source of Pb in it. Calcium (median, 3.6%), Al (2.4%), and Fe (1.2%) were the major elements and alkali and alkaline earth elements followed. Enrichment of Cd, Cu, Pb, S, and Zn compared to the crustal abundance indicated anthropogenic pollution of house dust with these metals. Particle size generally inversely correlated with element concentration: smaller particles likely to be ingested by hand-to-mouth activity contained more pollutant metals. Factor analysis revealed large loading of Pb, together with Ba, Cr, S and Ti, on one of four factors extracted and this result indicated that Pb in house dust was from paint. Since unintentional ingestion of house dust can be significant source of Pb for Japanese children, search for Pb-containing paint in indoor environment and removal of it was suggested to be an effective countermeasure to reduce Pb exposure level of children.
