Urban dust is a significant source of heavy metals (HMs) pollution in urban areas, posing potential health risks to humans through inhalation, dermal absorption, and ingestion during long-term exposure. This study evaluates HMs pollution and human health risk assessment in urban street dust from Sarvestan city, located southeast of Shiraz in southern Iran. Street dust samples from ten stations were analyzed for HMs
concentrations using ICP-OES. According to the grain size particle analysis, 12% of the particles were finer than 10 micrometers, indicating a high risk for silicosis. The mean concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) were 3.46, 0.37, 43.4, 74.5, 92.3, 48.7, and 191.5 ppm, respectively. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF) indicated a moderate level of pollution for Cd and a high level of enrichment for Cd, Pb, and As. The potential ecological risk factor (Er) showed the following decreasing order: Cd > As > Pb > Cu > Zn > Ni > Cr in Sarvestan street dust. The potential ecological risk index (RI) suggested a moderate risk based on the Er values of HMs. The non-carcinogenic risk/hazard index (HI) for children was within the acceptable range and higher than that for adults. The mean inhalation carcinogenic risk (Inh CR) value for both children and adults was negligible (<1×10⁻⁶). Children are particularly vulnerable to heavy metal exposure due to their lower body weight, higher inhalation and ingestion rates per unit body weight, hand-to-mouth behavior, and developing organ systems. This can lead to impaired cognitive development, neurological damage, and increased susceptibility to chronic diseases later in life. Therefore, assessing health risks specifically for children is not only crucial but also a priority in public health studies. This study, being the first of its kind in Sarvestan, aims to fill this critical knowledge gap by providing a quantitative health risk assessment for both children and adults, which is essential for formulating targeted public health policies
and remediation strategies in this industrially developing region