Impact of Vanadium-Containing Stone Coal Smelting on Trace Metals in an Agricultural Soil–Vegetable System: Accumulation, Transfer, and Health Risks

Zhichao Jiang, Xiyuan Xiao (), Zhaohui Guo, Yunxia Zhang and Xiaoxiao Huang
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Zhichao Jiang: School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Xiyuan Xiao: School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Zhaohui Guo: School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Yunxia Zhang: School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Xiaoxiao Huang: School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Dietary exposure to trace metals (TMs) through vegetable consumption has been identified as a potential risk to human health. Fifty-one paired agricultural soil and leaf vegetable samples were collected around V-containing stone coal smelting sites in Hunan Province, China, to study the contamination and transfer characteristics of TMs (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, V, and Zn) in the soil–vegetable system. The health risk to local residents through vegetable ingestion was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations. The results showed that 96.2%, 23.1%, 53.8%, 30.8%, 96.2%, and 69.2% of the soil samples had Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, V, and Zn contents exceeding their related maximum allowable values, respectively. Cadmium and V were the primary pollutants based on the I geo values. Moreover, 46.9% and 48.4% of vegetable samples exceeded the maximum permissible levels for Cd and Pb, respectively. There was a negative correlation between the bioaccumulation factors for Cd and V of the vegetable and soil physicochemical properties, including pH, organic matter, and free Fe 2 O 3 content. Ingestion of garland chrysanthemum and pak choi posed high health risks, and Cd, V, and Pb were the primary contributors. These findings will help design strategies to minimize contamination and human exposure to soil–vegetable systems caused by V-containing stone coal smelting.

Keywords: V-containing stone coal smelting; trace metal; soil–vegetable system; bioaccumulation factor; probability risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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