Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun 24;12(7):7100-17.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph120707100.

Integrated Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Suxian County, South China

Daping Song  1 , Dafang Zhuang  2 , Dong Jiang  3 , Jingying Fu  4 , Qiao Wang  5
Affiliations

Integrated Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Suxian County, South China

Daping Song et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess soil heavy metal contamination and the potential risk for local residents in Suxian county of Hunan Province, southern China. Soil, rice and vegetable samples from the areas near the mining industrial districts were sampled and analyzed. The results indicate that the anthropogenic mining activities have caused local agricultural soil contamination with As, Pb, Cu and Cd in the ranges of 8.47-341.33 mg/kg, 19.91-837.52 mg/kg, 8.41-148.73 mg/kg and 0.35-6.47 mg/kg, respectively. GIS-based mapping shows that soil heavy metal concentrations abruptly diminish with increasing distance from the polluting source. The concentrations of As, Pb, Cu and Cd found in rice were in the ranges of 0.02-1.48 mg/kg, 0.66-5.78 mg/kg, 0.09-6.75 mg/kg, and up to 1.39 mg/kg, respectively. Most of these concentrations exceed their maximum permissible levels for contaminants in foods in China. Heavy metals accumulate to significantly different levels between leafy vegetables and non-leafy vegetables. Food consumption and soil ingestion exposure are the two routes that contribute to the average daily intake dose of heavy metals for local adults. Moreover, the total hazard indices of As, Pb and Cd are greater than or close to the safety threshold of 1. Long-term As, Pb and Cd exposure through the regular consumption of the soil, rice and vegetables in the investigated area poses potential health problems to residents in the vicinity of the mining industry.

Keywords: heavy metals; mining activities; risk assessment; soil and crop contamination; spatial distribution.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of sampling sites in Suxian County in Hunan Province, South China.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Geographical distribution of As, Pb, Cu and Cd levels in soils from the investigated area.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Concentrations of As, Pb, Cu and Cd in rice sampled from the investigated area.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Geographical distribution of As, Pb, Cu and Cd non-carcinogenic risk indices in the study area.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Benin A., Sargent J. High concentrations of heavy metals in neighborhoods near ore smelters in northern Mexico. Environ. Health Perspect. 1999;107:279–284. doi: 10.1289/ehp.99107279. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Taylor H., Appleton J.D., Lister R., Smith B., Chitamweba D., Mkumbo O., Machiwa J.F., Tesha A.L., Beinhoff C. Environmental assessment of mercury contamination from the Rwamagasa artisanal gold mining centre, Geita District, Tanzania. Sci. Total Environ. 2005;343:111–133. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.09.042. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu H.Y., Probst A., Liao B.H. Metal contamination of soils and crops affected by the Chenzhou lead/zinc mine spill (Hunan, China) Sci. Total Environ. 2005;339:153–166. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.07.030. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Obiri S. Determination of heavy metals in water from boreholes in Dumasi in the Wassa westdistrict of western region of Republic of Ghana. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2007;130:455–463. doi: 10.1007/s10661-006-9435-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Marsh G.M., Esmen N.A., Buchanich J.M., Youk A.O. Mortality patterns among workers exposed to arsenic, cadmium, and other substances in a copper smelter. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2009;52:633–644. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20714. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types