Pollution status, potential sources and health risk assessment of arsenic and trace metals in agricultural soils: A case study in Malatya province, Turkey.

We measured the concentrations of arsenic and 11 trace metals in the soils from vegetable fields in Malatya province (Turkey) and assessed health risks for residential adults and children. Also, we assessed their potential sources, contamination status and ecological risks. Median concentrations of only As, Co, Ni and Cr exceeded the world soil average values, while those of Cd, As, Ni and Cu exceeded the upper continental crust contents. Contamination factor, enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index results indicated that the study region was contaminated with Cd, As, Ni and Cu likely due to use of irrigation water contaminated with industrial wastewaters and use of fertilizers and pesticides. Also, the study region had "high potential ecological risk" for Cd, whereas "low potential ecological risk" for the other trace metal(loid)s (TMs). Factor and hierarchical cluster analyses revealed that As and Cu were from anthropogenic sources, Cd and Ni from both natural and anthropogenic sources, while other TMs from natural sources. The hazard quotient values of all TMs and total hazard index values for both children and adults were lower than the risk level of 1, indicating that non-carcinogenic health risks are not expected for residents. Also, the cumulative carcinogenic risk results were within the acceptable risk range. Our results indicated that application of multivariate statistics, pollution, ecological and health indices together provide valuable knowledge for assessing soil pollution in a particular region.