Zinc is an essential trace element and a vital microelement for human health. Zinc can be toxic when exposures exceed physiological needs. Toxic effects in humans are most evident from inhalation exposure to high concentrations of Zn compounds. Urban air pollution can be especially dangerous due to the Zn content in airborne dust. Tree leaves can absorb significant levels of zinc. In this study, leaf deposition of Zn was investigated in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Russian zinc production plant and metallurgical plant are located in Chelyabinsk. Extremely high concentrations of Zn (316–4000 mg kg⁻¹) were found in the leaves of birch trees. It is well known that traffic also is Zn source in an urban environment. Trees, growing at the different distances from zinc production and metallurgical plants and road to identify the contribution of each source (road or industry), were studied. Through SEM analysis, the prevalence of small particulates (PM10 and less), containing Zn, illustrated leaf Zn deposition from the air by passing root accumulation. It was shown that emission of zinc production plant and the metallurgical plant is the main source of leaf Zn deposition in Chelyabinsk.

锌是人体健康必不可少的微量元素和重要的微量元素。当暴露量超过生理需要时，锌可能是有毒的。吸入暴露于高浓度的Zn化合物后，对人类的毒性作用最为明显。由于空气中粉尘中的锌含量，城市空气污染尤其危险。树叶可以吸收大量的锌。在这项研究中，在俄罗斯车里雅宾斯克研究了锌的叶片沉积。俄罗斯的锌生产厂和冶金厂位于车里雅宾斯克。极高浓度的锌（316–4000 mg kg ^-1）被发现在白桦树的叶子中。众所周知，在城市环境中，交通也是锌的来源。研究了在距锌生产，冶金厂和道路不同距离处生长的树木，以确定每种来源（道路或工业）的贡献。通过SEM分析，含有锌的小颗粒（PM10及以下）的流行说明了通过根部积累而从空气中沉积的叶片锌。结果表明，车里雅宾斯克州锌生产厂和冶金厂的排放是叶片锌沉积的主要来源。