UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 V1W8, Ireland.
Institute for a Sustainable Environment, Clarkson University, Box 5708, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 25;953:175987. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175987. Epub 2024 Sep 6.
The presence of heavy metals and metalloids (metal(loid)s) in the food chain is a global problem, and thus, metal(loid)s are considered to be Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs). Arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) are identified as prominent hazards related to human health risks throughout the food chain. This study aimed to carry out a source attribution for metal(loid)s in shallow topsoil of north-midlands, northwest, and border counties of the Republic of Ireland, followed by an assessment of the potential ecological and human health risks. The positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was used for source characterization of PTEs, followed by the Monte Carlo simulation method, used for a probabilistic model to evaluate potential human health risks. The mean concentrations of prioritized metal(loid)s in the topsoil range in the order of Pb (28.83 mg kg) > As (7.81 mg kg) > Cd (0.51 mg kg) > Hg (0.11 mg kg) based on the open-source Tellus dataset. This research identified three primary sources of metal(loid) pollution: geogenic sources (36 %), mixed sources of historical mining and natural origin (33 %), and anthropogenic activities (31 %). The ecological risk assessment showed that Ireland's soil exhibits low-moderate pollution levels however, concerns remain for Cd and As levels. All metal(loid)s except Cd showed acceptable non-carcinogenic risk, while Cd and As accounted for high to moderate potential cancer risks. Potato consumption (if grown on land with elevated metal(loid) levels), Cd concentration in soil, and bioaccumulation factor of Cd in potatoes were the three most sensitive parameters. In conclusion, metal(loid)s in Ireland present low to moderate ecological and human health risks. It underscores the need for policies and remedial strategies to monitor metal(loid) levels in agricultural soil regularly and the production of crops with low bioaccumulation in regions with elevated metal(loid) levels.
重金属和类金属（金属）在食物链中的存在是一个全球性问题，因此，金属被认为是潜在的有毒元素（PTEs）。砷（As）、铅（Pb）、汞（Hg）和镉（Cd）被确定为与整个食物链中的人类健康风险相关的主要危害。本研究旨在对爱尔兰共和国中北部、西北部和边境县浅层表土中的金属（loid）进行来源归因，并评估其潜在的生态和人类健康风险。正矩阵因子化（PMF）用于 PTEs 的源特征描述，然后使用蒙特卡罗模拟方法，用于评估潜在人类健康风险的概率模型。根据开源 Tellus 数据集，土壤中优先金属（loid）的平均浓度顺序为 Pb（28.83mgkg）>As（7.81mgkg）>Cd（0.51mgkg）>Hg（0.11mgkg）。这项研究确定了金属（loid）污染的三个主要来源：地质来源（36%）、历史采矿和自然起源的混合来源（33%）和人为活动（31%）。生态风险评估表明，爱尔兰的土壤表现出低-中度污染水平，但仍对 Cd 和 As 水平表示担忧。除 Cd 外，所有金属（loid）均表现出可接受的非致癌风险，而 Cd 和 As 则表现出高至中度的潜在癌症风险。除 Cd 外，所有金属（loid）均表现出可接受的非致癌风险，而 Cd 和 As 则表现出高至中度的潜在癌症风险。除 Cd 外，所有金属（loid）均表现出可接受的非致癌风险，而 Cd 和 As 则表现出高至中度的潜在癌症风险。除 Cd 外，所有金属（loid）均表现出可接受的非致癌风险，而 Cd 和 As 则表现出高至中度的潜在癌症风险。除 Cd 外，所有金属（loid）均表现出可接受的非致癌风险，而 Cd 和 As 则表现出高至中度的潜在癌症风险。除 Cd 外，所有金属（loid）均表现出可接受的非致癌风险，而 Cd 和 As 则表现出高至中度的潜在癌症风险。马铃薯消费（如果在金属（loid）含量较高的土地上种植）、土壤中 Cd 浓度和马铃薯中 Cd 的生物累积因子是三个最敏感的参数。总之，爱尔兰的金属（loid）存在低至中度的生态和人类健康风险。这突显了需要制定政策和补救策略，以定期监测农业土壤中的金属（loid）水平，并在金属（loid）含量较高的地区生产生物累积量较低的作物。
