title: Assessment of exposure to heavy metals and health risks among residents near Tonglushan mine in Hubei, China.
abstract: Heavy metal contamination due to mining activity is a global major concern because of its potential health risks to local inhabitants. In the present study, we investigated the levels of Cd, Cu, Pb and As in soil, crop, well water and fish samples collected from the vicinity of the Tonglushan mine in Hubei, China, and evaluated potential health risks among local residents. Results indicate that soils near the mine were heavily contaminated with Cd (2.59 mg kg(-1)), Cu (386 mg kg(-1)), Pb (120 mg kg(-1)) and As (35.4 mg kg(-1)), and exceeded the soil quality standard values of Cd and Cu contamination. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and As in crop samples grown in mine-affected soils were significantly higher than those of the reference soils. The concentrations of Cd and As in most vegetables grown in mine-affected soils exceeded the maximum allowable level (MAL). The Cd, Pb and As concentration in rice grain collected from mine-affected soils were 2.95, 1.85 and 2.07-fold higher than the MAL, respectively. The concentrations of Cd and As in fish muscle from the mine-affected area were above national MAL in 61% and 34% of analyzed samples, respectively. All measured heavy metals except Pb were significantly greater in well water in the mine-affected area than those in the reference areas. The average estimated daily intakes of Cd and As were beyond the provisional tolerable daily intake, respectively. The intake of rice was identified as a major contributor (⩾72%) to the estimated daily intake among the residents.
authors: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Resources and Exploration Technologies, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China; College of Earth Environment and Water Resources, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China. Electronic address: cailimei@scies.org.
authors: Li-Mei
authors: LM
authors: Cai
authors: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China.
authors: Zhen-Cheng
authors: ZC
authors: Xu
authors: South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China.
authors: Jian-Ying
authors: JY
authors: Qi
authors: College of Earth Environment and Water Resources, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China.
authors: Zhi-Zhou
authors: ZZ
authors: Feng
authors: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Resources and Exploration Technologies, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China; College of Earth Environment and Water Resources, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China.
authors: Ting-Sheng
authors: TS
authors: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry; D060986:Water Wells
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Dietary intake; Health risk; Heavy metal; Rice; Tonglushan mine