Heavy metal pollution by urban dust in the Tampico conurbation, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Urban dust acts as an effective environmental indicator of anthropogenic activities such as heavy metal pollution, reflecting the influence of industrial activities, traffic emissions, and port operations between others. Systematic sampling at different times and across urban locations with different land use categories is expected to capture the spatial and seasonal variability of heavy metal concentrations. This dataset consists of 96 urban dust samples collected at fixed locations at the Tampico conurbation (northeastern Mexico) during the dry and rainy seasons. Sampling sites were classified according to location type (e.g., school, bus stop, parking lot, residential, and industrial areas) to allow comparison among urban activities. Dust samples were collected using standardized surface collection procedures and analyzed for elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, enabling non-destructive multi-element detection. The data show the presence of Br, Cl, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, S, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr, with concentrations reported in mg/kg. Interpretation of the data should consider seasonal effects, meteorological data, land-use classification, and proximity to emission sources such as industrial parks, ports, and high-traffic roads. The dataset can be used for urban contamination assessment, health risk evaluation, spatial analysis, and comparative studies in industrialized coastal cities. In the associated publication, statistical and spatial analyses including two baseline levels for future studies and regulatory comparisons was performed and discussed. To access the processed data, please contact Dr. Felipe Caballero at [e-mail] or MIA Mireya Ovando Rocha [e-mail]城市粉尘是人为活动（如重金属污染）的有效环境指示物，可反映工业活动、交通排放及港口作业等诸多因素的影响。通过在不同时间、不同土地利用类型的城市区域开展系统采样，可获取重金属浓度的空间与季节变异特征。 本数据集包含墨西哥东北部坦皮科都市区在旱季与雨季期间，于固定采样点采集的96份城市粉尘样品。采样点位依据其所在功能类型（如学校、公交站点、停车场、居民区及工业区）进行分类，以便开展不同城市活动间的对比研究。粉尘样品采用标准化的表面采集流程获取，并通过X射线荧光光谱法（X-ray fluorescence, XRF）开展元素组成分析，实现无损多元素检测。 数据集涵盖溴（Br）、氯（Cl）、铬（Cr）、铁（Fe）、锰（Mn）、镍（Ni）、铅（Pb）、铷（Rb）、硫（S）、锶（Sr）、钛（Ti）、钒（V）、钇（Y）、锌（Zn）及锆（Zr）等元素，浓度单位为mg/kg。 对本数据集的解读需综合考量季节效应、气象数据、土地利用分类，以及采样点与工业园区、港口、高流量道路等排放源的邻近程度。 本数据集可应用于工业化沿海城市的城市污染评估、健康风险评估、空间分析及对比研究。 在相关发表文献中，已开展并讨论了包括面向未来研究与监管对比的两类基准水平在内的统计与空间分析工作。 若需获取处理后的数据，请联系费利佩·卡瓦列罗博士（邮箱：[e-mail]）或米雷娅·奥万多·罗查博士（邮箱：[e-mail]）