title: Heavy metal pollution in vegetables grown in the vicinity of a multi-metal mining area in Gejiu, China: total concentrations, speciation analysis, and health risk.
abstract: A field survey was conducted to investigate the present situation and health risk of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in soils and vegetables in a multi-metal mining area, Gejiu, China. Furthermore, three vegetables (water spinach, potato, and summer squash) containing high metal concentrations were selected to further analyze metal speciation. The results showed that the average concentrations of five metals in soil exceeded the limiting values, and their bioavailable concentrations were significantly positively correlated to the total ones. Heavy metals in the edible parts of vegetables also exceeded the corresponding standards. The leaves of pakchoi, peppermint, and coriander had a strong metal-accumulative ability and they were not suitable for planting. Except the residue forms, the main forms of metals in the edible parts of three selected vegetables were ethanol-, NaCl-, and HAc-extractable fractions for As, Pb, and Cd, respectively; however, Cu was mainly presented as NaCl-extractable and Zn as HAc-extractable fractions. A high proportion of ethanol-extractable As showed that As bioactivity and toxic effects were the highest. Although the total and bioavailable Cd were high in soil, its speciation in vegetables was mainly presented as HAc-extractable fraction, which has a relatively low bioactivity. Lead and arsenic were imposing a serious threat on the local residents via vegetable consumption.
authors: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yanyan
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Hongbin
authors: H
authors: Wang
authors: Haijuan
authors: H
authors: Wang
authors: Fei
authors: F
authors: Yin
authors: Xiaoyan
authors: X
authors: Yang
authors: Yongjun
authors: Y
authors: Hu
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008906:Mining; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014675:Vegetables / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D001151:Arsenic