Department of Reclamation of Arid and Mountainous Regions, Natural Resources Faculty, University of Tehran, R232+G78 Mesbah, Karaj, Iran.
Department of Civil- Environmental Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliar, Piazza d'Armi 1, 09123, Cagliari, Italy.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Jul 13;195(8):946. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-11551-9.
The current study aims to evaluate the health risk of heavy metals for humans and animals in the Angouran mining complex (northwest of Iran). Twenty-five plant species and their corresponding soils (natural soils) were collected along with mine tailings samples. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Co) for humans using the hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) were evaluated. Moreover, the health risk caused by forage feeding to grazing ruminants (cow and sheep) and the risk associated with animal products consumption by humans in the soil-plant-animal transfer system were assessed. The value of HI in natural soils (rangeland use) was less than one (HI < 1), while regarding tailings, the HQ via oral ingestion and the HI were greater than one (HI & HQ > 1). The range of total carcinogenesis risk in natural soils exceeded the target risk (Risk < 10) and for tailings, it showed the probability of cancer risk, 1 person per 3636 populations, which is much higher than the acceptable or tolerable range (10 < Risk < 10). Regarding the animal health risk, the content of Pb and Cd in most of the animal organs was higher than the control values. In turn, dietary exposure to Pb and Cd is worrying for residents due to exceeding the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). This comprehensive study suggests the necessity of risk assessment of mining sites in Iran and immediate control measures to diminish pollutants.
本研究旨在评估伊朗西北部安古兰矿区（Angouran mining complex）中重金属对人类和动物的健康风险。本研究沿矿尾迹采集了 25 种植物及其相应的土壤（自然土壤）。利用危害商数（hazard quotient，HQ）和危害指数（hazard index，HI）评估了重金属（Zn、Pb、Cd、Cr 和 Co）对人类的致癌和非致癌风险。此外，还评估了通过放牧反刍动物（牛和羊）采食饲料以及人类在土壤-植物-动物转移系统中食用动物产品对健康造成的风险。自然土壤（牧场使用）中的 HI 值小于 1（HI < 1），而对于尾矿，口服摄入的 HQ 和 HI 值大于 1（HI & HQ > 1）。自然土壤中总致癌风险的范围超过了目标风险（Risk < 10），而尾矿的致癌风险概率为每 3636 人中有 1 人，远高于可接受或可容忍的范围（10 < Risk < 10）。关于动物健康风险，大多数动物器官中的 Pb 和 Cd 含量高于对照值。反过来，由于超过暂定每周可耐受摄入量（provisional tolerable weekly intake，PTWI），居民通过饮食摄入 Pb 和 Cd 令人担忧。这项综合研究表明，伊朗有必要对矿区进行风险评估，并采取立即控制措施来减少污染物。
