The heavy metals in a zinc smelting waste dump area, northwest of Guizhou Province Henan, were investigated, and the subsequent evaluation of the pollution characteristics and health risks was conducted in the present study. The results indicated that the average levels of Cd, Pb, and Zn in slag and its surrounding soil significantly exceeded the soil background values in Guizhou Province and the values specified in the Soil Environmental Quality Risk Control Standard for Soil Contamination of Agricultural Land. The total non-carcinogenic risk values for children and adults, resulting from various heavy metals in waste slag through multiple exposure routes, were found to be 28.89 and 16.81 times higher than the acceptable level of 1, respectively, with Pb contributing to most of the risks. The integrated pollution index mean values for all crops exceeded the threshold value of 3.0 for heavy pollution, indicating that consuming crops from the study area posed significant risks to the general population. It was also noted that the potential health risks of heavy metals for children were higher than for adults. The heavy metal contents in soil and corn decreased with increasing distance from the slag heap, consuming corn grown on farmland 150 meters from the slag heap still posed health risks to humans.