Saleem Muhammad, Sens Donald A, Somji Seema, Pierce David, Wang Yuqiang, Leopold August, Haque Mohammad Ehsanul, Garrett Scott H
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
Department of Chemistry, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
Toxics. 2023 Jan 29;11(2):132. doi: 10.3390/toxics11020132.
Heavy metal (HM) pollution of soil is an increasingly serious problem worldwide. The current study assessed the metal levels and ecological and human health risk associated with HMs in Grand Forks urban soils. A total 40 composite surface soil samples were investigated for Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Hg, Cr, Cd and Tl using microwave-assisted HNO-HCl acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. The enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), ecological risk and potential ecological risk index were used for ecological risk assessment. The park soils revealed the following decreasing trend for metal levels: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cr > Ni > Cu > Pb > As > Co > Cd > Tl > Hg. Based on mean levels, all the studied HMs except As and Cr were lower than guideline limits set by international agencies. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, Cr and Tl may originate from natural sources, while Hg, Pb, As and Cd may come from anthropogenic/mixed sources. The Igeo results showed that the soil was moderately polluted by As and Cd and, based on EF results, As and Cd exhibited significant enrichment. The contamination factor analysis revealed that Zn and Pb showed moderate contamination, Hg exhibited low to moderate contamination and As and Cd showed high contamination in the soil. Comparatively higher risk was noted for children over adults and, overall, As was the major contributor (>50%), followed by Cr (>13%), in the non-carcinogenic risk assessment. Carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that As and Cr pose significant risks to the populations associated with this urban soil. Lastly, this study showed that the soil was moderately contaminated by As, Cd, Pb and Hg and should be regularly monitored for metal contamination.
土壤重金属（HM）污染是全球范围内日益严重的问题。当前研究评估了大福克斯城市土壤中重金属的含量以及与之相关的生态和人类健康风险。共采集了40个表层土壤混合样本，采用微波辅助HNO-HCl酸消解和电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）分析法，对其中的锰、铁、钴、镍、铜、锌、砷、铅、汞、铬、镉和铊进行了检测。采用富集因子（EF）、污染因子（CF）、地累积指数（Igeo）、生态风险和潜在生态风险指数进行生态风险评估。公园土壤中金属含量呈现以下递减趋势：铁＞锰＞锌＞铬＞镍＞铜＞铅＞砷＞钴＞镉＞铊＞汞。基于平均含量，除砷和铬外，所有研究的重金属均低于国际机构设定的指导限值。主成分分析（PCA）表明，锰、铁、钴、镍、铜、锌、砷、镉、铅、铬和铊可能源自自然源，而汞、铅、砷和镉可能来自人为/混合源。Igeo结果表明，土壤受到砷和镉的中度污染，基于EF结果，砷和镉表现出显著富集。污染因子分析表明，锌和铅显示中度污染，汞表现为低至中度污染，砷和镉在土壤中显示高污染。儿童的风险相对高于成人，总体而言，在非致癌风险评估中，砷是主要贡献者（＞50%），其次是铬（＞13%）。致癌风险评估表明，砷和铬对与该城市土壤相关的人群构成重大风险。最后，本研究表明，土壤受到砷、镉、铅和汞的中度污染，应定期监测金属污染情况。
