Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangzhou Key Laboratory Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangzhou Key Laboratory Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
J Environ Sci (China). 2025 Mar;149:688-698. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2024.01.048. Epub 2024 Feb 10.
Coking industry is a potential source of heavy metals (HMs) pollution. However, its impacts to the groundwater of surrounding residential areas have not been well understood. This study investigated the pollution characteristics and health risks of HMs in groundwater nearby a typical coking plant. Nine HMs including Fe, Zn, Mo, As, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb and Cd were analyzed. The average concentration of total HMs was higher in the nearby area (244.27 µg/L) than that of remote area away the coking plant (89.15 µg/L). The spatial distribution of pollution indices including heavy metal pollution index (HPI), Nemerow index (NI) and contamination degree (CD), all demonstrated higher values at the nearby residential areas, suggesting coking activity could significantly impact the HMs distribution characteristics. Four sources of HMs were identified by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model, which indicated coal washing and coking emission were the dominant sources, accounted for 40.4%, and 31.0%, respectively. Oral ingestion was found to be the dominant exposure pathway with higher exposure dose to children than adults. Hazard quotient (HQ) values were below 1.0, suggesting negligible non-carcinogenic health risks, while potential carcinogenic risks were from Pb and Ni with cancer risk (CR) values > 10. Monte Carlo simulation matched well with the calculated results with HMs concentrations to be the most sensitive parameters. This study provides insights into understanding how the industrial coking activities can impact the HMs pollution characteristics in groundwater, thus facilitating the implement of HMs regulation in coking industries.
炼焦行业是重金属（HMs）污染的潜在来源。然而，其对周围居民区地下水的影响尚未得到很好的理解。本研究调查了典型炼焦厂附近地下水重金属的污染特征和健康风险。分析了包括铁、锌、钼、砷、铜、镍、铬、铅和镉在内的 9 种重金属。附近地区（244.27µg/L）的总重金属平均浓度高于远离炼焦厂的偏远地区（89.15µg/L）。污染指数（包括重金属污染指数（HPI）、内梅罗指数（NI）和污染程度（CD））的空间分布均表明，附近居民区的污染指数值更高，这表明炼焦活动可能会显著影响重金属的分布特征。正定矩阵因子化（PMF）模型确定了 HMs 的四个来源，表明洗煤和炼焦排放是主要来源，分别占 40.4%和 31.0%。经口摄入被认为是主要的暴露途径，儿童的暴露剂量高于成人。危害商（HQ）值低于 1.0，表明非致癌健康风险可忽略不计，而潜在的致癌风险来自铅和镍，其致癌风险（CR）值>10。蒙特卡罗模拟与计算结果吻合较好，HMs 浓度是最敏感的参数。本研究深入了解了工业炼焦活动如何影响地下水重金属污染特征，从而为炼焦行业重金属监管提供了依据。
