Soil Heavy Metal Pollution and Health Risk Assessment Based on Monte Carlo Simulation: Case Study of Xicheng Lead-Zinc Mining Area

Lixia Wang, Qiang Liu () and Ronglong Bai
Additional contact information
Lixia Wang: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui 741001, China
Qiang Liu: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui 741001, China
Ronglong Bai: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui 741001, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: To investigate the status of heavy metal pollution and the associated ecological and health risks in farmland surrounding the Xicheng lead and zinc mining area, we collected soil samples (0–20 cm) and measured the level of As, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, and Cr. The characteristics of soil heavy metals, pollution levels, and ecological, and health risks were quantitatively assessed using Monte Carlo simulation in conjunction with the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution index (Pi), ecological risk index (Er), and human health risk assessment model. The results indicated that the average concentrations of As, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, and Cr in the soil of the study area were 26.92, 39.46, 31.18, 340.23, 1.13, 184.61, 0.34, and 71.15 mg·kg −1 , respectively. These values were significantly higher than the soil background levels reported for Gansu Province. The average Igeo for Hg was 3.27, and the average Er was 679.13, indicating that Hg had the highest accumulation and posed the greatest ecological risk in the study area. The average single-factor pollution index for Cd was 2.52, marking it as the heavy metal with the highest pollution level. The cumulative probability of health risk derived from Monte Carlo simulation indicates that the non-carcinogenic hazard indices for adults and children were 2.79 × 10 −1 and 1.67, respectively, with 94.82% of children exceeding the non-carcinogenic risk threshold. The carcinogenic risk indices (TCR) for adults and children were 8.09 × 10 −5 and 4.60 × 10 −4 , respectively, and 100% of the samples exceeded the TCR standard for children. As and Cd were identified as the primary contributors to both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks. The findings enhance our understanding of heavy metal contamination in farmland soils and establish an empirical framework for developing targeted remediation approaches and sustainable land management practices.

Keywords: lead and zinc mining area; farmland soil; heavy metal pollution; Monte Carlo simulation; health risks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3963/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3963/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3963-:d:1644574

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().