Distribution of Arsenic and Risk Assessment of Activities on Soccer Pitches Irrigated with Arsenic-Contaminated Water.

Nadia Martínez-Villegas,Diana Meza-Figueroa,Abraham Hernández,Bhaskar Sen Gupta

doi:10.3390/ijerph15061060

Abstract

The aim of this research was to estimate the risk of human exposure to arsenic due to sporting activities in a private soccer club in Mexico, where arsenic-contaminated water was regularly used for irrigation. For this purpose, the total concentration in the topsoil was considered for risk assessment. This was accomplished through three main objectives: (1) measuring arsenic concentrations in irrigation water and irrigated soils, (2) determining arsenic spatial distribution in shallow soils with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) using geostatistical analysis, and (3) collecting field and survey data to develop a risk assessment calculation for soccer activities in the soccer club. The results showed that the average arsenic concentrations in shallow soils (138.1 mg/kg) were 6.2 times higher than the Mexican threshold for domestic soils (22 mg/kg). Furthermore, dermal contact between exposed users and contaminated soils accounted for a maximum carcinogenic risk value of 1.8 × 10−5, which is one order of magnitude higher than the recommended risk value, while arsenic concentrations in the irrigation water were higher (6 mg/L) than the WHO’s permissible threshold in drinking water, explaining the contamination of soils after irrigation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first risk study regarding dermal contact with arsenic following regular grass irrigation with contaminated water in soccer pitches.

Highlights

Arsenic (As) is a natural element present in the earth’s crust, which is widely distributed in the environment
The findings of this study relate to the growing concern of As exposure risk to human health and contribute to the understanding of As enrichment and risk arising from domestic soil used for sports
The results showed that the mean As concentrations in soils in the soccer field examined (106.9 mg/kg) exceeded the Mexican threshold for As in domestic soils (22 mg/kg), with a significant difference (p = 7 × 10−8 ; n = 38)

Summary

Introduction

Arsenic (As) is a natural element present in the earth’s crust, which is widely distributed in the environment. It is present in the air, water, and land [1]. Arsenic concentrations in uncontaminated natural soils are generally below 10 mg/kg [3], but As concentrations in natural topsoil irrigated with As-rich water show large variations depending on water and soil characteristics [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. An As concentration of 22 mg/kg in soil used for residential and/or commercial purposes is considered safe, according to the Official Mexican Standard (NOM-147-SEMARNAT/SSA1-2004), which establishes criteria for the characterization and determination of soil remediation concentrations contaminated by As and other metals [11]. Public Health 2018, 15, 1060; doi:10.3390/ijerph15061060 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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