Human Health Risk Assessment and Safety Threshold of Harmful Trace Elements in the Soil Environment of the Wulantuga Open-Cast Coal Mine

Minerals

Jianli Jia²  Xiaojun Li²  Peijing Wu²  Ying Liu³  Chunyu Han³  Lina Zhou³  Liu Yang²  Shifeng Dai¹ 

[1] School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China;Yanqing Country Water Authority, Beijing 100083, China;

关键词: carcinogenic risk;    hazard quotient;    open-cast coal mine;    arsenic;    soil;    safety threshold;    harmful trace elements;   

DOI  :  10.3390/min5040528

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In this study, soil samples were collected from a large-scale open-cast coal mine area in Inner Mongolia, China. Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), beryllium (Be) and nickel (Ni) in soil samples were detected using novel collision/reaction cell technology (CCT) with inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS; collectively ICP-CCT-MS) after closed-vessel microwave digestion. Human health risk from As, Cd, Be and Ni was assessed via three exposure pathways—inhalation, skin contact and soil particle ingestion. The comprehensive carcinogenic risk from As in Wulantuga open-cast coal mine soil is 6.29–87.70-times the acceptable risk, and the highest total hazard quotient of As in soils in this area can reach 4.53-times acceptable risk levels. The carcinogenic risk and hazard quotient of Cd, Be and Ni are acceptable. The main exposure route of As from open-cast coal mine soils is soil particle ingestion, accounting for 76.64% of the total carcinogenic risk. Considering different control values for each exposure pathway, the minimum control value (1.59 mg/kg) could be selected as the strict reference safety threshold for As in the soil environment of coal-chemical industry areas. However, acceptable levels of carcinogenic risk are not unanimous; thus, the safety threshold identified here, calculated under a 1.00 × 10⁻⁶ acceptable carcinogenic risk level, needs further consideration.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.