Single particle characterization of size-fractionated road sediments

The relationship between particle distributions and chemical compositions of road sediments were investigated in Kobe, Japan. Road sediments are significant pollutants in urban areas, and their toxicity differs according to particle size. In the present study, the authors analyzed the distributions of particle size, chemical composition and particle type among size-fractionated road sediments. Road sediment samples were collected from road medians and street gutters. Chemical compositions of about 13,000 individual road sediment particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. They were classified into 7 types by cluster analysis, and their possible sources were estimated. The particle type distributions showed some relationships with the chemical composition distributions. This study showed that the chemical composition distributions among the road sediments were typical for each element in relation to the particle type distributions.