Xiao Ran, Wang Shuang, Li Ronghua, Wang Jim J, Zhang Zengqiang
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province 712100, China; School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
College of Biochemistry and Environmental Engineering, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan 442000, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2017 Jul;141:17-24. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.03.002. Epub 2017 Mar 12.
Soil contamination with heavy metals due to mining activities poses risks to ecological safety and human well-being. Limited studies have investigated heavy metal pollution due to artisanal mining. The present study focused on soil contamination and the health risk in villages in China with historical artisanal mining activities. Heavy metal levels in soils, tailings, cereal and vegetable crops were analyzed and health risk assessed. Additionally, a botany investigation was conducted to identify potential plants for further phytoremediation. The results showed that soils were highly contaminated by residual tailings and previous mining activities. Hg and Cd were the main pollutants in soils. The Hg and Pb concentrations in grains and some vegetables exceeded tolerance limits. Moreover, heavy metal contents in wheat grains were higher than those in maize grains, and leafy vegetables had high concentrations of metals. Ingestion of local grain-based food was the main sources of Hg, Cd, and Pb intake. Local residents had high chronic risks due to the intake of Hg and Pb, while their carcinogenic risk associated with Cd through inhalation was low. Three plants (Erigeron canadensis L., Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Koel., and Solanum nigrum L.) were identified as suitable species for phytoremediation.
采矿活动导致的土壤重金属污染对生态安全和人类福祉构成风险。针对个体采矿造成的重金属污染，相关研究较少。本研究聚焦于中国有历史个体采矿活动的村庄的土壤污染及健康风险。分析了土壤、尾矿、谷物和蔬菜作物中的重金属含量，并评估了健康风险。此外，开展了植物学调查，以确定用于进一步植物修复的潜在植物。结果表明，土壤受到残留尾矿和以往采矿活动的高度污染。汞和镉是土壤中的主要污染物。谷物和部分蔬菜中的汞和铅含量超过了耐受限度。此外，小麦籽粒中的重金属含量高于玉米籽粒，叶菜类蔬菜的金属含量较高。摄入当地以谷物为基础的食物是汞、镉和铅摄入的主要来源。当地居民因摄入汞和铅而面临较高的慢性风险，而通过吸入镉导致的致癌风险较低。三种植物（小飞蓬、马唐和龙葵）被确定为适合植物修复的物种。
