title: Assessments of levels, potential ecological risk, and human health risk of heavy metals in the soils from a typical county in Shanxi Province, China.
abstract: A total of 128 surface soil samples were collected, and eight heavy metals, including As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn, and Hg, were analyzed for their concentrations, potential ecological risks, and human health risks. The mean concentrations of these eight metals were lower than the soil environmental quality standards in China, while they were slightly higher than the background values in Shanxi Province. The enrichment factor, coefficient variation, and potential ecological risk index were used to assess the pollution and eco-risk level of heavy metals, among which, Cd and Hg showed higher pollution levels and potential risks than the others in the studied area. Moreover, multivariate geostatistical analysis suggested that Hg originated mainly from point sources such as industrial emissions, while agricultural activity is the predominant factor for Cd. The human health risk assessment indicated that non-carcinogenic values were below the threshold values. The total carcinogenic risks due to As, Cr, and Ni were within the acceptable range for adults, while for children, they were higher than the threshold value (1.0E-04), indicating that children are facing higher threat to heavy metals in soils. These results provide basic information on heavy metal pollution control and human health risk assessment management in the study regions.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control and Management Center, Beijing, 100012, China.|Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Beijing Normal University, College of Water Sciences, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control and Management Center, Beijing, 100012, China.|Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Benying
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control and Management Center, Beijing, 100012, China.|Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Guangling
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control and Management Center, Beijing, 100012, China.|Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Zhanshan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control and Management Center, Beijing, 100012, China.|Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control and Management Center, Beijing, 100012, China. xiangbao@craes.org.cn.|Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100012, China. xiangbao@craes.org.cn.
authors.forename: Bao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D004463:Ecology; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Ecological risk; Heavy metals; Human health risk; Levels; Soil; Spatial distribution