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. 2022 Nov 16;19(22):15105.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192215105.

Contamination, Source Identification, Ecological and Human Health Risks Assessment of Potentially Toxic-Elements in Soils of Typical Rare-Earth Mining Areas

Jiajia Fan  1 , Li Deng  2 , Weili Wang  3 , Xiu Yi  1 , Zhiping Yang  4
Affiliations

Contamination, Source Identification, Ecological and Human Health Risks Assessment of Potentially Toxic-Elements in Soils of Typical Rare-Earth Mining Areas

Jiajia Fan et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The mining and leaching processes of rare-earth mines can include the entry of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) into the environment, causing ecological risks and endangering human health. However, the identification of ecological risks and sources of PTEs in rare-earth mining areas is less comprehensive. Hence, we determine the PTE (Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, V) content in soils around rare-earth mining areas in the south and analyze the ecological health risks, distribution characteristics, and sources of PTEs in the study area using various indices and models. The results showed that the average concentrations of Co, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were higher than the soil background values, with a maximum of 1.62 times. The spatial distribution of PTEs was not homogeneous and the hot spots were mostly located near roads and mining areas. The ecological risk index and the non-carcinogenic index showed that the contribution was mainly from Co, Pb, and Cr, which accounted for more than 90%. Correlation analysis and PMF models indicated that eight PTEs were positively correlated, and rare-earth mining operations (concentration of 22.85%) may have caused Pb and Cu enrichment in soils in the area, while other anthropogenic sources of pollution were industrial emissions and agricultural pollution. The results of the study can provide a scientific basis for environmental-pollution assessment and prevention in rare-earth mining cities.

Keywords: human health risks; mining areas; potentially toxic elements; source allocation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of the study area and sampling sites.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pseudo-total contents of potentially toxic elements in soil in the study area. Solid lines indicate the mean values determined in this study; circles indicate the median values determined in this study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Spatial distribution of potentially toxic-element concentrations in soil.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Class distribution of soil potential ecological risks in the study area. (a) Distribution of Nemerow integrated pollution index for soils in the study area. (b) Distribution of potential ecological risks index for soils in the study area.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Factor profiles and origin contributions of potentially toxic elements in soil based on PMF.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Correlation analysis of potentially toxic elements in soil in the study area. * represents the probability significance level 0.05, ** probability significance level 0.01, and *** represents the probability significance level 0.001.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Contribution of different potentially toxic elements to non-carcinogenic risk.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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