title: Potential health risks of heavy metals in cultivated topsoil and grain, including correlations with human primary liver, lung and gastric cancer, in Anhui province, Eastern China.
abstract: Environmental exposure to heavy metals is a well-known risk factor for cancers. To evaluate potential health risks of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb, As and Hg) and Se in cultivated topsoil and grains, we investigated the concentrations of Hg, As and Se using atomic fluorescence spectrometry and Cr, Cd and Pb using inductive coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-MS). We also analyzed human cancer tissues for heavy metals. Potential health risks for local residents were evaluated by calculating the hazard index (HI) and the total carcinogenic risk (TCR) for soil heavy metals and the target hazard quotient (THQ) and the carcinogenic risk (CR) for grain heavy metals. A bioconcentration factor (BCF) was applied to quantify the bioaccumulation of heavy metals. Our results demonstrated that the mean concentrations of heavy metals in soil were all within the safety limits set by FAO/WHO and Chinese regulations; however, the mean concentrations of Cr and Hg in grain exceeded the safety limits. HI and TCR for soil heavy metals were all within acceptable levels, but the THQ for four grain heavy metals exceeded the target value of 1 (Cr, 2.64; Pb, 1.41; As, 1.24; Hg, 1.07; Cd, 0.39). The grain CR for Cr, Pb and As exceeded the accepted risk level of 10(-6). BCF values indicated that the bioaccumulation capacity decreased in the following sequence: Hg>Se>Cd>Cr>Pb>As. We also observed statistically significant correlations of topsoil Pb concentration with human gastric cancer and grain Hg with human liver cancer. Therefore, long-term low dose exposure of heavy metals may play a key role in tumorigenesis, and it may not be necessary to accumulate a high concentration of heavy metals in the human body for those metals to induce tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qihong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Anguo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shengli Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zongfan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shengyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Anla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Bo
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shuyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chuanlai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fangbiao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dexiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Longping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition Hygiene, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: li1964li@163.com.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Concentration correlation; Grain; Health risk; Heavy metals; Human cancers; Topsoil