OICC Press Iranian Journal of Earth Sciences 2228-785X 2026 07 14 Airborne Dust Particles Originated from Sand and Gravel Quarries: Mineralogical, Geochemical and Size Distribution Constraints on Their Potential Health Impacts 10.57647/ijes.2027.24881 EN Rabeah Menhaje-Bena Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Soroush Modabberi School of Geology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Shahnaz Bakand Department of Occupational Health and safety, School of Health & Society, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia Hossein Kazemian Materials Technology and Environmental Research (MATTER) Lab, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada; Environmental Sciences Program, Faculty of Environment, UNBC, Prince George, Canada Mahmoud Ghazi Khansari Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Kazem Koohi Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2026 07 14 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.