ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Heavy Metals Pollution Characteristics
and Health Risk Assessment of Farmland Soils
and Agricultural Products in a Mining Area
of Henan Province, China
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1
College of Forestry, Henan Agricultrual University, Zhengzhou, P.R. China
2
Zhengzhou Environmental Protection Monitoring Center, Zhengzhou Ecological Environment Bureau,
Zhengzhou, P.R. China
Submission date: 2019-07-13
Final revision date: 2019-10-31
Acceptance date: 2019-12-12
Online publication date: 2020-04-16
Publication date: 2020-06-08
Corresponding author
Fawen Zhang
College of Forestry, Henan Agricultrual University, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2020;29(5):3929-3941
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ABSTRACT
This research focused on soil contamination and the health risks around a mining area in Henan
Province of China. Heavy metals contents in farmland soils and agricultural products were analyzed.
The results showed that the soils in the mining area had been polluted by heavy metals to different
degrees, whereas the average concentrations of heavy metals in farmland soils had exceeded the
background value of Henan Province. Cd was the main pollutant element in soils. Agricultural products
grown on farmland near the mining area were heavily polluted by Cd and Pb and slightly polluted by
Cr. Furthermore, the health risk to local inhabitants via food ingestion was assessed based on the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) health risk assessment model. The results showed
that the local inhabitants experience high potential health risks by intake of Cd and Pb via consumption
of these vegetables. Leafy vegetables had the highest health risks of all agricultural products, whether
adults or children, suggesting high health risks by consuming the contaminated agricultural products.
Moreover, because children were more sensitively affected by heavy metals from food ingestion, we
should pay more attention to monitoring children’s health in such areas.