Environmental Health and Ecological Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution in the Coastal Cities of Estuarine Bay—A Case Study of Hangzhou Bay, China

Li, Rongxi; Yuan, Yuan; Li, Chengwei; Sun, Wei; Yang, Meng; Wang, Xiangrong

doi:10.3390/toxics8030075

Cited by 45 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Heavy metal pollution in soil is closely related to human activities during mining in open-pit mines [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. For example, heavy metals spread far and wide through dust and wind effects from various human activities, migrate to nearby water bodies and soils, and destroy the local ecological environment [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Soil of an Opencast Mine in Xinjiang

Fan

Pan

Wang

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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To study the influence of open-pit coal mining on the surrounding soil environment and human health, this study selected the Hongshaquan coal mine in Xinjiang as the research area and took 31 soil samples from the dump and artificial forest of the mining area. The contents of seven heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the soil were analyzed. The pollution index method, geoaccumulation index method (Igeo), potential ecological risk index method, health ecological risk assessment model and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to evaluate and analyze the heavy metal pollution, potential ecological risk and health ecological risk of the soil. The results showed that compared with the background value of soil in Xinjiang, except for Pb, other heavy metal elements were essentially pollution-free and belonged to the low ecological risk area. The health risk assessment model showed that Pb and As were the main pollution factors of noncarcinogenic risk, and that exposure to Ni, Pb and As had a lower carcinogenic risk. The PCA showed that Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, As and Zn in the dump were from transportation and industrial activities, Cd was from natural resources, and Cr, Zn, Ni, Cd and Pb were from transportation in the artificial forest. Cu came from industrial sources and As from soil parent material. The dump was more seriously disturbed by human factors than by artificial forests. Our research provides a reference for heavy metal pollution and source analysis caused by mining.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Soil of an Opencast Mine in Xinjiang

Fan

Pan

Wang

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…Urban soil environments are subjected to heavy metal input from atmospheric deposition, agricultural irrigation water, industrial activities, and natural sources. This is particularly true for heavy metal mercury (Li et al 2020;Cabral et al 2017;Cabral et al 2015;Cabral et al 2014). Due to the fact that mercury can affect the health of the urban residents, it has become necessary to understand the status of county soil environments with regard to mercury accumulation levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollution Characteristics and Risk Assessments of Mercury in the Soil of the Main Regions in a China’s Typical Agricultural County: Dehui

Zhou

Zhang

2022

Preprint

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Dehui county is a typical agricultural area, with cultivated land accounting for more than 70% of the total land area. It has become a national agricultural demonstration area of "high yield, high quality and high efficiency". As a typical agricultural county in northeastern China and with the only title “China’s famous food city” in all the county-level cities, the environmental conditions of the soil in Dehui County with over 100 years city history face high ecological risks. In the present study, in order to more fully understand the characteristics of the soil mercury content and its related health risks in the main areas of Dehui County, the pollution degrees were evaluated using the data of land accumulation indexes (Igeo), potential ecological risk indexes (Er), and health risk assessment methods. The mercury content (TSM) levels in the soil, along with the atmospheric mercury content (TGM) levels, were analyzed. The results showed that the mean value of the mercury content in the soil in Dehui County was 0.0481 ± 0.0866 mg/kg, and the concentration range was between 0.0055 and 0.8155mg/kg. It was found that the mercury content levels in 34% of the soil samples exceeded the background value of soil (0.040 mg/kg). There was no significant correlation between atmospheric mercury concentration at 0 cm and soil mercury content. This may be due to the obvious migration of surface soil and fugitive dust due to the scouring of urban streets by runoff, which affects the distribution of mercury in surface soil. In addition, the low population density of small towns, the small number of large centralized coal-fired boilers, the low height of exhaust funnel and the absence of mercury removal measures for tail gas lead to the multi-source dry and wet deposition of atmospheric mercury on the surface. The mercury content levels in the soil were found to vary from different directions, with the mercury content found to be the highest in the central and eastern section of the county. However, there were no significant differences in mercury content of any direction. Igeo showed that 24.0% of the sample points were polluted. The insanitary areas were mainly concentrated in the central and western sections of the county. The mercury content levels in the soil of Dehui County ranged from pollution-free to mild pollution levels overall. The Er indicated that the potential ecological risk level was high in the central and eastern sections of Dehui County. However, the soil mercury levels in Dehui County presented a low level of ecological risk overall. The average values of the non-carcinogenic risks (HQ) and the total non-carcinogenic risk assessment indexes (HI) in all directions within Dehui County were determined to be far less than 1. Therefore, it was concluded that the soil mercury levels were not potentially harmful to human health.

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“…Soil heavy metal pollution is closely related to human activities [ 8 , 9 ]. Automobile exhaust emissions, automobile tires, brake pad wear, and the burning of lubricating oil are important sources of heavy metal pollution in the soil around roads [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Distribution of Soil Heavy Metals and Associated Environmental Risks near Major Roads in Southern Tibet, China

She

Guo

Gao

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Soil heavy metal pollution is becoming an increasingly serious environmental problem. This study was performed to investigate the contents of surface soil heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) near six roads in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Multivariate statistics, geoaccumulation index, potential ecological risk, and a human health assessment model were used to study the spatial pollution pattern and identify the main pollutants and regions of concern. The mean Igeo was ranked in the order Cd > Cu > Zn > Pb, with the average concentrations of Cd, Zn, and Cu exceeding their corresponding background levels 4.36-, 1.00-, and 1.8-fold, respectively. Soil Cd level was classified as posing a considerable potential risk near national highways and a high potential risk near non-national highways, whereas soil Cu, Zn, and Pb were associated with a low potential ecological risk for each class of roads. Furthermore, the non-carcinogenic risk due to soil heavy metals for each class of roads was within the acceptable risk level for three exposure pathways for both adults and children, but the carcinogenic risk attributable to soil Pb exceeded the threshold for children near highways G318, G562, and G219 and for adults near highway G318. Our work not only underscores the importance of assessing potential threats to ecological and human health due to soil heavy metal pollution on road surfaces but also provides quantitative guidance for remediation actions.

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Environmental Health and Ecological Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution in the Coastal Cities of Estuarine Bay—A Case Study of Hangzhou Bay, China

Cited by 45 publications

References 38 publications

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Soil of an Opencast Mine in Xinjiang

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Soil of an Opencast Mine in Xinjiang

Pollution Characteristics and Risk Assessments of Mercury in the Soil of the Main Regions in a China’s Typical Agricultural County: Dehui

Spatial Distribution of Soil Heavy Metals and Associated Environmental Risks near Major Roads in Southern Tibet, China

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