Exposure Toxicity of Dust Storm Particles Based on Plasmid Scission Assay: An Example from Beijing

To investigate the health risks of particulate matter during spring dust storms in Beijing, this study selected atmospheric particulate samples collected during a typical dust storm event in March 2021. The DNA damage rates induced by PM2.5 and PM10 were measured using the Plasmid Scission Assay (PSA) and were used as an indicator of their oxidative potential. Water-soluble heavy metal elements (WSHM) in the samples were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results indicate that due to the influence of the dust storm, the monthly average PM2.5 mass concentration in March 2021 reached as high as 83 μg/m3, which could potentially raise the difficulty of air pollution control. It was found that during the dust storm event, PM2.5 induced a higher DNA damage rate (mean 42.35% at an experimental dose of 200 μg/mL in the PSA) than PM10 (mean 40.46% under the same experimental dosage). The DNA damage rates of dust storm particles showed a positive correlation trend (r = 0.60) with total WSHM concentrations. Exposure toxicity, calculated by multiplying the DNA damage rates under certain experimental PM doses by the PM mass concentrations, showed that the exposure risk of PM2.5 during dust storms even exceeded that of PM2.5 during haze events. This study reveals the potential toxicity and health risks associated with PM during dust storms, which calls for increased attention.