title: Concentration and transportation of heavy metals in vegetables and risk assessment of human exposure to bioaccessible heavy metals in soil near a waste-incinerator site, South China.
abstract: There is limited study focusing on the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in vegetables and human exposure to bioaccessible heavy metals in soil. In the present study, heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Ni, Cu, Pb and Cd) were measured in five types of vegetables, soil, root, and settled air particle samples from two sites (at a domestic waste incinerator and at 20km away from the incinerator) in Guangzhou, South China. Heavy metal concentrations in soil were greater than those in aerial parts of vegetables and roots, which indicated that vegetables bioaccumulated low amount of heavy metals from soil. The similar pattern of heavy metal (Cr, Cd) was found in the settled air particle samples and aerial parts of vegetables from two sites, which may suggest that foliar uptake may be an important pathway of heavy metal from the environment to vegetables. The highest levels of heavy metals were found in leaf lettuce (125.52μg/g, dry weight) and bitter lettuce (71.2μg/g) for sites A and B, respectively, followed by bitter lettuce and leaf lettuce for sites A and B, respectively. Swamp morning glory accumulated the lowest amount of heavy metals (81.02μg/g for site A and 53.2μg/g for site B) at both sites. The bioaccessibility of heavy metals in soil ranged from Cr (2%) to Cu (71.78%). Risk assessment showed that Cd and Pb in soil samples resulted in the highest non-cancer risk and Cd would result in unacceptable cancer risk for children and risk. The non-dietary intake of soil was the most important exposure pathway, when the bioaccessibility of heavy metals was taken into account.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: kangyuan407@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Weijian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Lixuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Qiuyun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Technology Research Center for Ecological Management and Remediation of Urban Water System, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Jiwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D017745:Incineration; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Bioaccessibility; Heavy metals; Risk assessment; Waste incinerator