An integrated approach to quantify ecological and human health risks of soil heavy metal contamination around coal mining area

Teklit Zerizghi; Qingjun Guo; Liyan Tian; Rongfei Wei; Changqiu Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152653

An integrated approach to quantify ecological and human health risks of soil heavy metal contamination around coal mining area

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Mar 25:814:152653. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152653. Epub 2021 Dec 23.

Authors

Teklit Zerizghi¹, Qingjun Guo², Liyan Tian³, Rongfei Wei⁴, Changqiu Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Hamelmalo Agricultural College, National Commission for Higher Education, Keren, P.O. Box 397, Eritrea.
² Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. Electronic address: guoqj@igsnrr.ac.cn.
³ Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
⁴ Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁵ Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.

PMID: 34954188
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152653

Abstract

Soil heavy metals harm ecological biodiversity and human health, and quantifying the risks more accurately is still obscure. In this study, a network environ analysis was applied to quantify risks between ecological communities based on control allocation and human health risk models to calculate human health exposure risks from soil heavy metals around Greenside coal mining in South Africa. Ecological and human health risks were apportioned using PMF model. Results showed assessed heavy metals (mean) exceeded local background content with a cumulative of moderately polluted using pollution load index (PLI). Total initial risk (R_i), the risk to biological organisms from direct soil exposure, was 0.656 to vegetation and 1.093 to soil microorganisms. Risk enters the food web via vegetation and harms the whole system. Integrated risks (initial, direct, and indirect) to vegetation, herbivores, soil microorganisms, and carnivores were 0.656, 0.125, 1.750, and 0.081, respectively, revealing that soil microorganisms are the most risk receptors. Total Hazard Index (HI_T) was <1 for adults (0.574) whereas >1 for children (4.690), signifying severe non-cancer effects to children. Total cancer risk (TCR) to children and adults surpassed the unacceptable limit (1.00E-04). Comparatively, Cr is a high-risk metal accounted for 63.24% (adults) and 65.88% (children) of the HI_T and 92.98% (adults) and 91.31% (children) of the TCR. Four sources were apportioned. Contributions to R_i (soil microorganisms and vegetation) from F3 (industrial), F4 (atmospheric), F2 (coal mining), and F1 (natural) were 42.20%, 24.56%, 23.55%, and 9.68%, respectively. The non-cancer risk from F3 (37.67% to adults and 38.40% to children) was dominant, and TCR to children from the sources except F1 surpassed the unacceptable limit. An integrated approach of risk quantification is helpful in managing risks and reducing high-risk pollution sources to better protect the environment and human health.

Keywords: Coal mining of South Africa; Heavy metal; Network environ analysis; Risk assessment; Source apportionment.

MeSH terms

Adult
Child
China
Coal Mining*
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Mining
Risk Assessment
Soil
Soil Pollutants* / analysis

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Soil
Soil Pollutants