Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Soil of an Opencast Mine in Xinjiang

Tingyu Fan (), Jinhong Pan, Xingming Wang, Shun Wang and Akang Lu
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Tingyu Fan: School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Jinhong Pan: School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Xingming Wang: School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Shun Wang: School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Akang Lu: School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: To study the influence of open-pit coal mining on the surrounding soil environment and human health, this study selected the Hongshaquan coal mine in Xinjiang as the research area and took 31 soil samples from the dump and artificial forest of the mining area. The contents of seven heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the soil were analyzed. The pollution index method, geoaccumulation index method (I geo ), potential ecological risk index method, health ecological risk assessment model and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to evaluate and analyze the heavy metal pollution, potential ecological risk and health ecological risk of the soil. The results showed that compared with the background value of soil in Xinjiang, except for Pb, other heavy metal elements were essentially pollution-free and belonged to the low ecological risk area. The health risk assessment model showed that Pb and As were the main pollution factors of noncarcinogenic risk, and that exposure to Ni, Pb and As had a lower carcinogenic risk. The PCA showed that Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, As and Zn in the dump were from transportation and industrial activities, Cd was from natural resources, and Cr, Zn, Ni, Cd and Pb were from transportation in the artificial forest. Cu came from industrial sources and As from soil parent material. The dump was more seriously disturbed by human factors than by artificial forests. Our research provides a reference for heavy metal pollution and source analysis caused by mining.

Keywords: heavy metals; potential ecological risks; health risks; source analysis (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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