Department of Environmental Geochemistry, The Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan 0025, Abovian-68, Republic of Armenia.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2017 Aug;142:257-265. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.04.013. Epub 2017 Apr 28.
Children, the most vulnerable urban population group, are exceptionally sensitive to polluted environments, particularly urban soils, which can lead to adverse health effects upon exposure. In this study, the total concentrations of Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Ti, V, and Zn were determined in 111 topsoil samples collected from kindergartens in Yerevan. The objectives of this study were to evaluate heavy metal pollution levels of kindergarten's soils in Yerevan, compare with national legal and international requirements on heavy metal contents in kindergarten soil, and assess related child health risk. Multivariate geostatistical analyses suggested that the concentrations of Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mo, Pb, and Zn observed in the kindergarten's topsoil may have originated from anthropogenic sources, while Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Ti, and V mostly come from natural sources. According to the Summary pollution index (Zc), 102 kindergartens belong to the low pollution level, 7 to the moderate and only 2 to the high level of pollution. Summary concentration index (SCI) showed that 109 kindergartens were in the allowable level, while 2 featured in the low level of pollution. The health risk assessment showed that in all kindergartens except for seven, non-carcinogenic risk for children was detected (HI>1), while carcinogenic risk from arsenic belongs to the very low (allowable) level. Cr and multi-element carcinogenic risk (RI) exceeded the safety level (1.0E- 06) in all kindergartens and showed that the potential of developing cancer, albeit small, does exist. Therefore, city's kindergartens require necessary remedial actions to eliminate or reduce soil pollution and heavy metal-induced health risks.
儿童是城市中最脆弱的群体，他们对污染环境，尤其是城市土壤，格外敏感。如果接触到这些污染环境，可能会对健康产生不良影响。本研究共采集了 111 份来自埃里温幼儿园的表层土壤样本，测定了其中 Ag、As、Ba、Cd、Co、Cr、Cu、Fe、Hg、Mn、Mo、Ni、Pb、Ti、V 和 Zn 的总浓度。本研究的目的是评估埃里温幼儿园土壤的重金属污染水平，与国家有关幼儿园土壤重金属含量的法律和国际要求进行比较，并评估相关儿童健康风险。多元地质统计分析表明，幼儿园土壤中观察到的 Ag、As、Ba、Cd、Cu、Hg、Mo、Pb 和 Zn 的浓度可能来自人为来源，而 Co、Cr、Fe、Mn、Ni、Ti 和 V 主要来自自然来源。根据综合污染指数（Zc），102 所幼儿园属于低污染水平，7 所属于中度污染，仅有 2 所属于高度污染。综合浓度指数（SCI）表明，109 所幼儿园处于可接受水平，而 2 所幼儿园处于低污染水平。健康风险评估显示，除了 7 所幼儿园外，所有幼儿园的儿童均存在非致癌风险（HI>1），而砷的致癌风险属于极低（可接受）水平。Cr 和多元素致癌风险（RI）在所有幼儿园均超过安全水平（1.0E-06），表明存在潜在的癌症风险，尽管风险较小。因此，城市幼儿园需要采取必要的补救措施，以消除或减少土壤污染和重金属引发的健康风险。
