Heavy Metals in Soil and Sand from Playgrounds of Çanakkale City (Turkey), and Related Health Risks for Children

Mehmet Parlak,Tülay Tunçay,Fotini Botsou

doi:10.3390/su14031145

Abstract

Children spend most of their time in playgrounds and, in parallel, constitute the social group most sensitive to contaminants. Here, we present the results of a comparative study of heavy-metal contents between soils and sand from sandboxes obtained from playgrounds of Çanakkale city. Average contents of soils followed the order of iron (Fe) (12,901 mg kg−1) > manganese (Mn) (475 mg kg−1) > zinc (Zn) (58 mg kg−1) > copper (Cu) (28 mg kg−1) > nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) (21 mg kg−1) > lead (Pb) (18 mg kg−1). Sand had lower contents, however, due to the reduction of particles size through prolonged use, and accumulation of Fe/Mn (oxyhydr)oxides on sand grains tended to diminish the differences between soils and sand. Through chemometric analysis, Cr and Ni were found to have a lithogenic origin, while the rest of metals were related to anthropogenic activities. Spatially, heavy-metal contents followed the pattern of the city’s sprawl. Risk estimates on children’s health showed that ingestion was the most important exposure route, followed by dermal contact and inhalation. Exposure of children to sand was of similar importance to that of soils. These findings are significant, as the contamination of sand has not yet received much attention compared to the soil of playgrounds.

Highlights

Urban soils become enriched with heavy metals, either by geological or anthropogenic factors
Because of the frequent contact of children with both soil and sand in playgrounds, more studies are needed to elucidate the differences in the heavy metal contents of these two matrices, as well as the potential hazards posed to children upon contact with them
We examined the levels of heavy metals in soils and the sand from sandboxes of the central district of Çanakkale, as well as the potential hazards posed to children while playing outdoors

Summary

Introduction

Urban soils become enriched with heavy metals, either by geological or anthropogenic factors. The contribution of anthropogenic factors is often reported to be dominant, due to rapid urbanization [1,2,3,4]. Contaminated urban soils are a cause of concern with respect to human health, upon exposure of city residents through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. The benefits of playing in open playgrounds and parks are many, children can be exposed to pollutants present in soil and sand from sandboxes. Exposure of children to pollutants may occur through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact, the ingestion route has been recognized as the most important one [15,16,17]. Children can inadvertently ingest soil and sand. They pick up Sustainability 2022, 14, 1145.

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