Dust fall and elemental flux in a coal mining area

•Dust fall rate was higher in the commercial than the residential site of coal mining town.•Dust fall rate in summer is about 5 times higher than in the rainy season.•Order of elemental flux: Zn > Sr > Pb > Cu > V > Cr > Ni > Co.•Minerals in dust: quartz, kaolinite, pyrite, albite, and magnesiohornblende.•SEM micro morphology study showed presence of soot particles in dusts.

Air is a very essential part for the existence of humans and other living organisms. To know the quantum of atmospheric dust fall and their mineral and morphological characteristics, dust samples were collected at monthly intervals from three different sites (commercial, residential, and control) of the Jharia coal mining area, India. Samples were analysed for heavy metals, minerals, and morphological features by ICP-AES, XRD, and SEM respectively. The yearly average dust fall was higher for the commercial site (15.5 t/km2/month) than the residential site (10.7 t/km2/month) of Jharia coal mining area. The dust deposition rate was highest during summer (March–June), followed by winter (October–February) and lowest in the monsoon season (July–September). The elemental fall was higher for Zn followed by Pb > Sr > Cu > V > Cr > Ni > Co. The major minerals in dusts from Jharia mining area were quartz, kaolinite, pyrite, albite, and magnesiohornblende. The SEM-EDS analysis showed the dust in commercial sites has contributions from coal, and soil. In the residential site, soot particles from domestic coal burning; and in control site, soot particles from biomass burning were observed in SEM. Overall the intensity of dust pollution is more in the commercial sites of the coal mining area.