Source Identification and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soil: A Case Study of Lintancang Plain, Northeast China

Qianru Man, Lijuan Xu () and Mingfang Li ()
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Qianru Man: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Lijuan Xu: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Mingfang Li: Linyi Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center of Shandong Province, Linyi 276000, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: To investigate the concentration, source, and potential health risk of soil heavy metals (V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Hg), this study determined the concentration of these seven metals in 37 soil samples from Linyi City, southeast of Shandong Province, China. The mean concentrations of the investigated heavy metals followed the sequence: Cr (76.2 mg/kg) > V (70.5 mg/kg) > Zn (70.1 mg/kg) > Ni (34.0 mg/kg) > Pb (31.4 mg/kg) > Cu (23.2 mg/kg) > Hg (1.7 mg/kg). The enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (I geo ) indicated an extreme enrichment of Hg (EF > 10, I geo > 4) within the study area, while a slight enrichment of other metals. According to the toxic risk index (TRI), Hg accounted for the strongest soil toxicity (TRI = 8.07, 64.3%). The risk assessment with hazard index (HI) suggested that the health risks of all metals were acceptable, and the HI of adults was generally lower compared with that of the children. In addition, two principal components (PC) calculated by principal component analysis (PCA) were used to identify the sources of these heavy metals, which were 57.73% for PC 1 (Pb, Cr, Zn, Ni, Hg, Cu and V) and 21.63% for PC 2 (Hg, Cu and V), respectively. Moreover, PC 1 was mainly controlled by anthropogenic inputs, while PC 2 was contributed to by natural sources. Combined with the correlation matrix, it was concluded that there were three different sources for all seven heavy metals.

Keywords: soil; heavy metals; enrichment; toxic risks; sources analysis; Lintancang Plain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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