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; Akang Lu

doi:10.3390/ijerph192315522

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

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 23;19(23):15522. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315522.

Authors

Tingyu Fan^{1

2

3}, Jinhong Pan^{1

2

3}, Xingming Wang^{1

2

3}, Shun Wang^{1

2

3}, Akang Lu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China.
² Institute of Environmental Friendly Materials and Occupational Health, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Wuhu 241002, China.
³ Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Comprehensive Utilization of Water and Soil Resources & Ecological Protection in Mining Area with High Groundwater Level, Huainan 232001, China .

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: health risks; heavy metals; potential ecological risks; source analysis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

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

Substances

Soil
Soil Pollutants
Cadmium
Metals, Heavy

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, grant number (2022YFF1303303), National Energy Group 2030 Pilot Project of China, grant number (GJNY2030XDXM-19-03.2), Study on the interaction mechanism of nitrogen, phosphorus and clay minerals in dynamic coal mining subsidence area, grant number (WHR-SKL-201907).