title: Contamination and risk of heavy metals in soils and sediments from a typical plastic waste recycling area in North China.
abstract: Plastic wastes are increasingly being recycled in many countries. However, available information on the metals released into the environment during recycling processes is rare. In this study, the contamination features and risks of eight heavy metals in soils and sediments were investigated in Wen'an, a typical plastic recycling area in North China. The surface soils and sediments have suffered from moderate to high metal pollution and in particular, high Cd and Hg pollution. The mean concentrations of Cd and Hg were 0.355 and 0.408 mg kg(-1), respectively, in the soils and 1.53 and 2.10 mg kg(-1), respectively, in the sediments. The findings suggested that there is considerable to high potential ecological risks in more than half of the soils and high potential ecological risk in almost all sediments. Although the health risk levels from exposure to soil metals were acceptable for adults, the non-carcinogenic risks to local children exceeded the acceptable level. Source assessment indicated that heavy metals in soils and sediments were mainly derived from inputs from poorly controlled plastic waste recycling operations in this area. The results suggested that the risks associated with heavy metal pollution from plastic waste recycling should be of great concern.
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Regional Energy and Environmental Systems Optimization, Environmental Research Academy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: zwtang@ncepu.edu.cn.
authors: Zhenwu
authors: Z
authors: Tang
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Regional Energy and Environmental Systems Optimization, Environmental Research Academy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: 446329773@qq.com.
authors: Lianzhen
authors: L
authors: Zhang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: huangqf@craes.org.cn.
authors: Qifei
authors: Q
authors: Huang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: cqyyf@163.com.
authors: Yufei
authors: Y
authors: Yang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: niezq@craes.org.cn.
authors: Zhiqiang
authors: Z
authors: Nie
authors: National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China. Electronic address: jlcheng77@163.com.
authors: Jiali
authors: J
authors: Cheng
authors: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: yangj@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Yang
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Regional Energy and Environmental Systems Optimization, Environmental Research Academy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: 18810720592@163.com.
authors: Yuwen
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: MOE Key Laboratory of Regional Energy and Environmental Systems Optimization, Environmental Research Academy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: 15650798262@163.com.
authors: Miao
authors: M
authors: Chai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D010969:Plastics; D059027:Recycling; D012306:Risk; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010969:Plastics; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Heavy metal; Plastic waste recycling; Pollution; Risks; Soils and sediments