The Concentration And Health Risk Assessment Of Atmospheric Heavy Metals In Urban China

Abstract

Objective:To describe concentrations of atmospheric heavy metals in urban China and assess the potential health risks of them for population.Methods: The articles on atmospheric heavy metal concentrations in Chinese cities published from 2000 to 2012 were searched and collected from CNKI, Wanfang, CQVIP, Science Direct, Google Scholar and PubMed etc. Based on the uniform criteria, 59 articles were selected for further analysis. Results: The atmospheric heavy metal concentrations were reported in 53 cities of 29 provinces and included more than 5,863 valid samples. The average concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, manganese, nickel and lead in PM10 in urban China were 27.7, 14.1, 60.9, 220.0, 37.5 and 290.0 ng/m3, respectively. Concentrations of heavy metals were higher in Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan economic zone, Circum-Bohai-Sea region and Pearl River Delta. And atmospheric chromium and manganese pollutions were serious in southern and eastern cities, respectively. However, others didn't have obvious regional distribution characteristics. The results of health risk assessment showed that carcinogenic risks of arsenic, chromium, cadmium and nickel for adults were 6.0×10-5, 2.8×10-4, 1.5×10-5 and 2.7×10-6, respectively, more remarkable, the risk of chromium was greater than 1×10-4, and the values for children were 1.5×10-5, 7.4×10-5, 3.9×10-6 and 0.7×10-6, respectively. The non-carcinogenic risks of lead and manganese for adults were 0.01×10-6 and 1.7×10-6, respectively, and the values for children were 0.002×10-6 and 0.5×10-6, respectively. Conclusions: The concentrations of atmospheric heavy metals were all exceeded the annual reference or standard values in China. The health risks of arsenic, cadmium, manganese, nickel and lead for public were acceptable. However, the carcinogenic risks of chromium for adults were unacceptable.