Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Agricultural Soils over the Past Five Years in Zhejiang, Southeast China

Jie Xiang, Peiwei Xu, Weizhong Chen, Xiaofeng Wang, Zhijian Chen, Dandan Xu, Yuan Chen, Mingluan Xing, Ping Cheng, Lizhi Wu () and Bing Zhu ()
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Jie Xiang: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Peiwei Xu: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Weizhong Chen: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Xiaofeng Wang: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Zhijian Chen: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Dandan Xu: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Yuan Chen: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Mingluan Xing: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Ping Cheng: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Lizhi Wu: Department of Environmental Health, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China
Bing Zhu: Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310000, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils has attracted increasing attention in recent years. In this study, 1999 agricultural soil samples were collected from 11 cities in Zhejiang Province from 2016 to 2020, and the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of 3 of the most important heavy metals, i.e., lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) were analyzed. The results showed that Cd had a slightly higher sample over-standard rate of 12.06%. Spatial distribution and temporal trends showed that the Pb concentrations overall increased from 2016 to 2020 and mainly accumulated in southern Zhejiang. In addition, multiple exposure routes were evaluated for human health risks. Children are more susceptible to the adverse effects of heavy metals in agricultural soils, and oral ingestion was the major exposure route. Cr poses higher human health risks to humans than Pb and Cd in agricultural soils. Therefore, more rigid environmental monitoring and related soil remediation counter-measures for some sites with high concentrations of heavy metals are necessary to limit the potential threat to human health.

Keywords: heavy metals; agricultural soils; spatiotemporal distribution; health risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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