Metals pollution and human bioaccessibility of topsoils in Grugliasco (Italy).
Polluted soils can present a significant health risk especially in an urban environment. Most current legislation and health risk frameworks are based on pseudototal metal content. However, only a fraction of these concentrations is available for plant and human uptake. The aim of this work was to study the diffuse metal contamination in the soils of a municipality in Northern Italy in terms of: (i) metal availability, and (ii) metal accessibility to the human body and its relationship to soil properties, considering lead, copper, zinc, nickel, and chromium. Soil metal content was measured simulating availability conditions. Human bioaccessibility was derived from a modified physiologically-based extraction test. The human bioaccessible content was then estimated taking into account the relationships between pseudototal content and selected soil parameters. For the case study, the prediction of human bioaccessibility based on pseudototal content, organic matter and soil texture produced statistically significant models, with r(2)=0.60 for Cu, r(2)=0.53 for Pb and r(2)=0.42 for Zn.
Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Soil Protection, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland. laura.poggio@gmail.com
Laura
L
Poggio
Borut
B
Vrscaj
Rainer
R
Schulin
Erwin
E
Hepperle
Franco
F
Ajmone Marsan
D001682:Biological Availability; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants