10.57647/ijes.2027.24881

Airborne Dust Particles Originated from Sand and Gravel Quarries: Mineralogical, Geochemical and Size Distribution Constraints on Their Potential Health Impacts

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  • Rabeah Menhaje-Bena1,
  • Soroush Modabberi*2,
  • Shahnaz Bakand3,
  • Hossein Kazemian4,5,
  • Mahmoud Ghazi Khansari6,
  • Mohammad Kazem Koohi1,
  1. Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
  2. School of Geology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
  3. Department of Occupational Health and safety, School of Health & Society, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
  4. Materials Technology and Environmental Research (MATTER) Lab, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
  5. Environmental Sciences Program, Faculty of Environment, UNBC, Prince George, Canada
  6. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2024-12-26

Revised: 2025-11-09

Accepted: 2025-12-06

Published Online: 2026-03-26

Copyright (c) 2026 Rabeah Menhaje-Bena, Soroush Modabberi, Shahnaz Bakand, Hossein Kazemian, Mahmoud Ghazi Khansari, Mohammad Kazem Koohi (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Menhaje-Bena, R., Modabberi, S., Bakand, S., Kazemian, H., Ghazi Khansari, M., & Koohi, M. K. (2026). Airborne Dust Particles Originated from Sand and Gravel Quarries: Mineralogical, Geochemical and Size Distribution Constraints on Their Potential Health Impacts. Iranian Journal of Earth Sciences. https://doi.org/10.57647/ijes.2027.24881
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Abstract

Dust particles derived from sand and gravel mining have been considered one of the possible sources of airborne particles in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. In this research, the size, morphological, and geochemical characteristics of airborne particles originating from open mines were investigated. Twenty-two samples from different heights (3 to 21 m) were collected from a sand and gravel quarry in Shahriar, as a representative of the numerous quarries in western Tehran. The selected samples were further analyzed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The mineralogy of airborne dust was dominated by quartz, followed by albite and calcite. The size distribution of deposited particles at different heights ranged from 0.05 μm to 100 μm, and about 80% of them were respirable (<10 μm) and available for transport through the atmosphere. Si/Al ratios mainly ranged between 4 and 10. Most nanoparticles were deposited in agglomerated forms.

Keywords

  • Airborne dust particles,
  • Sand and gravel mining,
  • Crystalline quartz,
  • Dust mineralogy,
  • Dust morphology
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