Contamination and health risk assessment of PAHs in soils and crops in industrial areas of the Yangtze River Delta region, China.
This is the first investigation into both soil and crop contamination and associated health risks by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in industrial areas of the Yangtze River Delta region (YRDR). Soil and crop samples were collected from farmland surrounded by three typical industries (a steelworks [SW], a petrochemical facility [PF] and a power plant [PP]), and the concentrations and health risks of PAHs in soils and crops were evaluated. The average concentrations of 16 USEPA priority PAHs in surface soil and subsoil were 471.30 μg kg-1and 341.40 μg kg-1, respectively. The respective average concentrations of 16 PAHs in amaranth, spinach, Chinese chive, and rice tissues were 1710.49, 1176.96, 1218.36 and 352.12 μg kg-1. Based on both the results of a principal component analysis (PCA) and the PAH ratios, the main sources of the PAHs in soils were determined to be the combustion of coal and petroleum. The total values of incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) for males induced by both soils and crops were 2.19 × 10-4, 2.53 × 10-4, and 9.17 × 10-4, and for females were 2.21 × 10-4, 2.50 × 10-4, and 9.68 × 10-4for childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, respectively. Soils contaminated with PAHs posed a lower risk than crops, but the ILCR values, 4.40 × 10-5and 3.82 × 10-5for males and females, was still much higher than the baseline value. The results of this investigation provide novel information for contamination evaluation and human health risk assessment in PAH-contaminated sites.
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China.
Jian
J
Wang
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China.
Xiaofang
X
Zhang
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China.
Wanting
W
Ling
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China.
Rui
R
Liu
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China.
Juan
J
Liu
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China.
Fuxing
F
Kang
Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210095, China. Electronic address: gaoyanzheng@njau.edu.cn.
Yanzheng
Y
Gao
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003031:Coal; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D055815:Young Adult
D003031:Coal; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants
Crop; Incremental lifetime cancer risk; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Soil; Yangtze River Delta region