10.22184/2227-572X.2025.15.6.442.454
Nanoparticles of urban dust are characterized by extremely high mobility in the environments and can easily penetrate living organisms. The investigation of elemental composition of nanoparticles of urban dust is challenge due to the difficulty of their separation for following quantitative analysis. In the current study, the elemental composition and pollution degree of nano- and microparticles in urban dust of Norilsk city were evaluated using an integrated approach based on the method of field-flow fractionation in a rotating coiled column developed at the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences. The nano- and microparticles under study were found to be contaminated by Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Pb, and Zn. It was shown that the total degree of contamination and potential ecological risk are higher for microparticles as compared to nanoparticles of urban dust. It can be assumed that these elements in the emissions of Norilsk’s industrial enterprises are primarily in the form of microparticles, which, in turn, represent the main sources of their accumulation in urban dust.