Department of Public Health, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
Department of Chemistry, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, 46383, USA.
Chemosphere. 2021 Jun;272:129915. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129915. Epub 2021 Feb 10.
Historic industrial activity led to extensive lead and arsenic contamination within residential areas of East Chicago, Indiana, United States. Although remediation is underway, community concerns about this contamination remain. Therefore, the goal for this analysis was to characterize environmental contamination in soil within and around these areas. A total of 228 samples from 32 different sites (addresses) were collected by community members or study staff. These were analyzed for metals using portable x-ray fluorescence or inductively coupled plasma ̶ optical emission spectroscopy. Concentrations exceeding EPA screening levels were found for 42% of the soil arsenic samples, 35% of the soil lead samples, and 79% of the soil manganese samples; a few samples also contained elevated copper or zinc. Concentrations above EPA screening levels were identified both within and outside of the formally designated contaminated area. Roughly 30% of all sites had at least one sample above and one sample below the screening level for arsenic, lead, and manganese. For sites within the contaminated area, more than 90% (arsenic), 60% (lead) and 60% (manganese) of the samples exceeded EPA screening levels. There was a significant association of proximity to the historic industrial site with elevated soil concentrations of arsenic and lead; a similar association was present for manganese. These results are consistent with existing data for lead and arsenic and we additionally report elevated concentrations of manganese and a high within-site variability of all metal concentrations. These findings should be considered in future remediation efforts.
历史工业活动导致美国印第安纳州东芝加哥市居民区广泛受到铅和砷的污染。尽管正在进行补救措施，但社区仍然对这种污染表示担忧。因此，本分析的目标是描述这些地区及其周围土壤中的环境污染物。由社区成员或研究人员共收集了来自 32 个不同地点（地址）的 228 个样本。这些样本使用便携式 X 射线荧光或电感耦合等离子体-光发射光谱法进行金属分析。结果发现，42%的土壤砷样本、35%的土壤铅样本和 79%的土壤锰样本超过了 EPA 的筛选水平；少数样本还含有较高的铜或锌。在正式划定的污染区域内外都发现了超过 EPA 筛选水平的浓度。大约 30%的所有地点都至少有一个样本的砷、铅和锰的浓度超过筛选水平，而另一个样本低于筛选水平。对于污染区内的地点，超过 90%（砷）、60%（铅）和 60%（锰）的样本超过了 EPA 的筛选水平。与历史工业遗址的接近程度与砷和铅的土壤浓度升高有显著关联；锰也存在类似的关联。这些结果与现有的铅和砷数据一致，我们还报告了锰浓度升高以及所有金属浓度的高场内变异性。在未来的补救工作中应考虑这些发现。
