Contamination and Health Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Household Dust Across the Haze Season in...

Indoor exposure to potentially toxic elements (PTEs) presents a global health concern, yet comprehensive seasonal assessments in Thailand remain limited, particularly during air pollution episodes. We assessed 15 PTEs in household dust collected across eight provinces of upper northern Thailand (UNT) during the haze and non-haze seasons to evaluate contamination levels, identify sources, and assess health risks. Five elements (Cr, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn) showed significantly higher concentrations during the haze season (p < 0.05), accompanied by corresponding increases in contamination indices and more diverse pollution sources being identified compared to the non-haze season, with Sb showing the highest enrichment degree (EF = 117.8). Source identification revealed potential enrichment from mixed anthropogenic sources, natural soil, industrial activities, agricultural inputs, and biomass burning. Health risk assessment showed that children faced unacceptable non-carcinogenic risks (HI = 2.51), increasing to 2.79 during the haze season, exceeding safe thresholds. Both adults and children experienced unacceptable carcinogenic risks from chromium exposure, particularly through inhalation during haze episodes. Total lifetime cancer risks increased from 1.20 × 10^-4 to 1.74 × 10^-4 for children and from 4.02 × 10^-4 to 6.06 × 10^-4 for adults during the haze season. These findings underscore the critical need for integrated pollution control strategies addressing biomass burning emissions to reduce indoor dust contamination and protect public health in biomass-burning-impacted regions.