title: Regional probabilistic risk assessment of heavy metals in different environmental media and land uses: An urbanization-affected drinking water supply area.
abstract: In this study, we proposed a Regional Probabilistic Risk Assessment (RPRA) to estimate the health risks of exposing residents to heavy metals in different environmental media and land uses. The mean and ranges of heavy metal concentrations were measured in water, sediments, soil profiles and surface soils under four land uses along the Shunde Waterway, a drinking water supply area in China. Hazard quotients (HQs) were estimated for various exposure routes and heavy metal species. Riverbank vegetable plots and private vegetable plots had 95thpercentiles of total HQs greater than 3 and 1, respectively, indicating high risks of cultivation on the flooded riverbank. Vegetable uptake and leaching to groundwater were the two transfer routes of soil metals causing high health risks. Exposure risks during outdoor recreation, farming and swimming along the Shunde Waterway are theoretically safe. Arsenic and cadmium were identified as the priority pollutants that contribute the most risk among the heavy metals. Sensitivity analysis showed that the exposure route, variations in exposure parameters, mobility of heavy metals in soil, and metal concentrations all influenced the risk estimates.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yimin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tieyu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Academy of Environmental Science, Guangdong, 510045, China.
authors.forename: Rongbo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014506:Urban Renewal; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D001151:Arsenic