Lead levels in settled dusts of Tripoli, Libya

The levels of lead in settled dust samples collected near small streets, playgrounds, gas stations and main streets in the Tripoli area have been determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The overall mean values observed were 417, 533, 553 and 797 micrograms g-1 dry wt for the above locations respectively. The overall mean concentration for main streets was significantly higher (P less than 0.05) than for other sites. The data were also compared with those reported in the literature for other cities.