Ecological and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Farmland in the South of Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, China

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 12; no. 23; p. 12425
• Main Authors: Li, Yanhua, Zhu, Qing, Tang, Xuejiao, Wang, Cuiping, Zhai, Sheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.12.2022
• Subjects: Accumulation; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; agricultural soil; Agriculture; Animal husbandry; Arsenic; Cadmium; Carcinogens; Chromium; dam grassland; Ecological effects; Ecological risk assessment; Environmental risk; Fertilizer application; Fertilizers; Grasslands; Health risk assessment; Health risks; heavy metal; Heavy metals; Mercury; Metals; Oats; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution control; Pollution index; Pollution sources; Potatoes; Principal components analysis; Risk assessment; Sediment pollution; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soil surfaces; Soils; China
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app122312425

The distribution of heavy metals in the agricultural areas from a cattle-producing area near the Zhangbei Dam grassland, Hebei province, China, was investigated for providing the basis for the control of pollution in a rural farmland. Fifty-three surface soil samples including 28 soils of potato and 25 soils of oats were collected and analyzed for the distribution of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, As, Hg, and Ni. Furthermore, the ecological risk of soils contaminated with heavy metals was evaluated by employing the single factor index, the Nemerow comprehensive pollution index and geo-accumulation index, and potential ecological hazard index. The results showed that the contents of the eight heavy metals in soil planted with potato were below the risk screening values. The single factor index in soils planted with hulless oats showed that the concentrations of Cd, Hg, and Ni surpassed the Chinese screening limits by 8%, 4%, and 8%, respectively. According to the geo-accumulation index, 4% of samples reached the level of medium ecological risk for Cd. According to the results of ecological risk assessment, the studied soils generally showed a mild pollution degree. According to the health risks assessment results, the carcinogenic risks should be considered non-negligible. Arsenic is the dominant carcinogenic pollutant for human beings in the county. The main sources of pollution are mining and application of fertilizers.