Human Health Risk Assessment of Toxic Elements in Farmland Topsoil with Source Identification in Jilin Province, China

Fengxu Li, Jiquan Zhang, Tiehua Cao, Sijia Li, Yanan Chen, Xuanhe Liang, Xin Zhao and Junwei Chen
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Fengxu Li: Institute of Natural Disaster Research, Department of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Jiquan Zhang: Institute of Natural Disaster Research, Department of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Tiehua Cao: Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130017, China
Sijia Li: Institute of Natural Disaster Research, Department of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Yanan Chen: Institute of Natural Disaster Research, Department of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Xuanhe Liang: Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130017, China
Xin Zhao: Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130017, China
Junwei Chen: Institute of Natural Disaster Research, Department of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: The presence of toxic elements in agricultural soils from anthropogenic activities is a potential threat to human health through the food chain. In this study, the concentration of toxic elements in 122 agricultural topsoil composite samples were determined in order to study the current status, identify their sources and assess the level of pollution and human health risk. The results showed that the mean concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Hg and As in the farmland topsoil were 21.72, 15.09, 36.08, 0.2451, 0.0378 and 4.957 mg·kg −1 , respectively. The spatial distribution showed that the soils were mainly contaminated by Cd, Pb and Hg in midwest Jilin but by Cu and As in the east. According to the pollution index (Pi), Nemerow integrated pollution index (PN) and Geo-Accumulation Index ( I geo ), Cd and Pb were the main pollutants in the soils. The occurrence of these elements was caused by anthropogenic activities and they were concentrated in the Songyuan-Changchun-Siping economic belt. There is limited non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk to humans. Principal component analyses suggest the Pb, Cd and Hg soil contamination was mainly derived from anthropogenic activities in the Midwest, but all examined toxic elements in the east were mainly due to geogenic anomalies and came from atmospheric deposition.

Keywords: toxic elements; health risk assessment; farmland soils; Jilin Province (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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