Contaminated land: can acute exposure be a significant health risk? Two case studies and associated risk assessment methods

Abstract

Contaminated land risk assessments generally focus on the chronic health risks, arising from long-term, low-level exposure to the contaminants, and a number of risk assessment tools are in routine use. Situations where significant acute risks might be present are not commonly encountered, and methods for risk assessment are less well established. We present two recent case studies from the northwest of England, the first an area of public open space, and the second an occupied school site, with the associated risk assessments.

Nanoarchitectonics of Bimetallic MOF@Lab‐Grade Flexible Filter Papers: An Approach Towards Real‐Time Water Decontamination and Circular Economy

“…Also, the commonly known "Blue Billy contamination," ubiquitous in gas plants and coke industrial sites across the UK, has been a serious source of concern to date. [20] Therefore, many old MGP sites and coke ovens have experienced a significant amount of cyanide contamination of the soil. [17,21] Additionally, the dumped cyanide wastes in landfills have a tendency to be released into the environment.…”

A PETAR method for risk assessment of human health and environment on the regional scale

“…Li et al, 2014;Purves, 1966), pesticide and fertilizer use pose food safety hazards (Bi et al, 2013;Y. L. Liu, Wen, et al, 2013), and persistent desertification and soil erosion induce barren land where many families live below the level of subsistence (Djuma et al, 2017;Kowalczyk et al, 2013;Singh, 2015). These concerns have long been debated concerning human health and environmental quality.…”

“…The excessive exploitation of natural resources and rapid industrialization are threatening environmental fragility, causing global environmental deterioration that threatens human health (R. S. Chen & Ye, 2014; J. Liu & Diamond, 2005; Shapiro, 2016). Specifically, metal accumulation pollutes soil and water sources (Teng et al, 2014; Wei & Yang, 2010), industrial waste gas discharge leads to acid rain and metal dust fall (Singh & Agrawal, 2008; Urrutia‐Goyes et al, 2018), ore mining and oil exploitation cause damage to the earth's surface (Z. Y. Li et al, 2014; Purves, 1966), pesticide and fertilizer use pose food safety hazards (Bi et al, 2013; Y. L. Liu, Wen, et al, 2013), and persistent desertification and soil erosion induce barren land where many families live below the level of subsistence (Djuma et al, 2017; Kowalczyk et al, 2013; Singh, 2015). These concerns have long been debated concerning human health and environmental quality.…”