Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the levels of Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in the environment and several important food sources grown and consumed in the vicinity of Dabaoshan mine in Southern China, and evaluate potential health risks among local residents. The Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn concentrations of arable soils and well water near the mines exceeded the quality standard values. The concentrations of Cd and Pb in some food crops (rice grain, vegetable and soybean) samples were significantly higher than the maximum permissible level. The Cd and Pb concentrations in half of the chicken and fish meat samples were higher than the national standard. The residents living near Dabaoshan mine had higher Cd and Pb levels in hair than those of a non-exposed population. The intake of rice was identified as a major contributor to the estimated daily intake of these metals by the residents. The hazard index values for adults and children were 10.25 and 11.11, respectively, with most of the estimated risks coming from the intake of home-grown rice and vegetables. This study highlights the importance of multiple pathways in studying health risk assessment of heavy metal exposure in China.
Highlights
Mining and smelting activities have had an important role for local and national economies; mining-related industries have commonly been performed in an uncontrolled way, giving rise to severe soil erosion and environmental problems, especially heavy metal pollution [1,2]
Among the six sites in the study area, the paddy soil samples collected from FD showed the highest concentrations of Cd (5.5 mg/kg), Pb (386 mg/kg), Cu (703 mg/kg), and Zn (1100 mg/ kg), presumably because FD is located on the mountaintop of the Dabaoshan mine (Figure 2)
The soil samples collected from XJ, which is located far from Dabaoshan mines (.15 km), showed the lowest heavy metal concentrations
Summary
Mining and smelting activities have had an important role for local and national economies; mining-related industries have commonly been performed in an uncontrolled way, giving rise to severe soil erosion and environmental problems, especially heavy metal pollution [1,2]. The discharge of acidic mine drainage (AMD), with elevated levels of heavy metals, can contaminate the downstream water, agricultural soils, food crops and biota and pose a health risk to residents near the mining areas [3,4]. Heavy metal contamination by mining is a major environmental concern on a global scale, in developing countries. Health related incidents caused by heavy metal pollution in China have risen sharply since 2005, with major accidents attracting nationwide attention [6,7]. Health risks in mine areas affect workers, but the whole population living around the areas, in particular children, so that millions of people in the world are estimated to be exposed to metals in mine areas [8,9,10]
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