Application of Different Indices for Soil Heavy Metal Pollution Risk Assessment Comparison and Uncertainty: A Case Study of a Copper Mine Tailing Site

Abstract

The concentrations of Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Cr, and Cd in soil were analyzed in a mining area in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The average metal concentrations in the soil samples were 204.07 mg/kg, 88.15 mg/kg, 14.47 mg/kg 88.52 mg/kg, 56.45 mg/kg, and 0.235 mg/kg, respectively. Based on the evaluation standards, background values of the soil heavy metals, multiple soil pollution assessment indices, such as the single factor index (Pi), the geological accumulation index (Igeo), the Nemerow index (Pn), the ecological risk index (ER), and the health risk index (HI) were applied to evaluate the soil environmental risks in the study area. It was found that in different soil layer depths (0–10 cm, 10–30 cm, and 30–50 cm), the evaluation result of each index showed that there were significant spatial differences in soil pollution levels, and the focus of different indices differed greatly from each other. The Pi put 18.14% of the area at high risk of soil contamination levels, due to the fact that this index highlights the Cu pollution factor more than other indices and relatively amplifies hazards in some high-risk areas. While the Pn indicated that 61.36% of the study area was at a safe level of soil contamination, it can underestimate the regional soil heavy metal pollution risk. In order to scientifically carry out soil-pollution-risk prevention and control, it is necessary to comprehensively compare and analyze the information disclosed by different indices.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Mine Tailings Spill Considering Metallurgical Processes of Gold and Copper Mining: Case Studies in the Andean Countries of Chile and Peru

“…As can be seen, the 24-h average of PM 2.5 exceeded the Chilean norm of 50 µg/m 3 N only once. It is important to mention that when analyzing P 75 and the maximum value, during times of the day there are PM 2.5 concentrations that are equivalent to approximately 25% of the measurements that exceed the cited standards (MMA, WHO, and Peru), which is a risk to health, since each increase in 10 µg/m 3 N of fine particles in the air determines a 4% increase in general mortality, an 8% increase in cardiopulmonary diseases, and a 6% increase in cancer mortality pulmonary [56,57].…”

Improving the Content of Chemical Elements from the Soil of Waste Heaps Influenced by Forest Vegetation—A Case Study of Moldova Nouă Waste Heaps, South-West Romania

“…Identifying and evaluating the risks of soil pollutants based on heavy metals has become a major preoccupation at a global level [28,29]. Some investigations have determined the base values of heavy metals in soils as well as multiple indices for the assessment of soil pollution, using the unique factor index (Pi), the geological accumulation index (Igeo), the Nemerow index (Pn), the ecological risk index (ER), and the health risk index (HI) [30]. Solving the issue of heavy metal pollution is one of the main preoccupations of society [31,32].…”

Effect of salinity on the potential cadmium phytoremediation from the polluted soil by carpobrotus rossii

“…are amongst the most usual anthropogenic pathways by which heavy metals can get released into the environment and eventually lead to soil pollution, especially in saline soils [ 4 ]. Some features of toxic metals, such as their non-biodegradability, their biological amplification effect, and the ability to increase their concentration thousands of times with significant effect on the human race are the main reasons to make us remove them from soil, sediments and other media [ 5 , 6 ].…”