Department of Chemistry, University College in Al-Qunfudah, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering, Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 21;19(10):e0311189. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311189. eCollection 2024.
Beach pollution can impact the health of people living in or visiting coastal areas. The primary goal of this research was to investigate the presence of heavy metal pollutants and associated health risks in three distinct coastal cities, Jeddah, Al-Lith, and Al-Qunfudhah, located along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Forty-three soil samples were collected from different locations, heavy metals including Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Cd, and Pb were isolated, and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Various metrics such as pollution indices (PI), integrated pollution indices (IPI), enrichment factors (EF), daily dose averages (ADD), hazard quotients (HQ), and hazard indices (HI), as well as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were employed to evaluate the environmental impacts and health risks posed by these heavy metals. The results revealed that Fe, Pb, Cu, Mn, and Zn concentrations in beach zones were below their respective background levels, while concentrations of Cd exceeded corresponding background levels. PCA revealed the highest levels of Pb, Fe, and Mn on Al-Qundudah beach, while Cd and Cu were highest on Al-Lith beach, and Zn was highest on Jeddah beach. PI values highlighted extremely high levels of Cd pollution on all designated beaches. The findings provide a foundational basis for further investigations into health problems potentially related to Cd contamination, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), osteomalacia, and osteoporosis.
海滩污染会影响居住在沿海地区或访问沿海地区的人们的健康。本研究的主要目的是调查沙特阿拉伯红海沿岸的三个不同沿海城市吉达、利特和古努夫达的重金属污染物及其相关健康风险。从不同地点采集了 43 个土壤样本，使用电感耦合等离子体光学发射光谱法分离和分析了铁、锌、锰、铜、镉和铅等重金属。采用污染指数 (PI)、综合污染指数 (IPI)、富集因子 (EF)、日均剂量 (ADD)、危害系数 (HQ)和危害指数 (HI) 等多种指标以及主成分分析 (PCA) 和聚类分析来评估这些重金属对环境的影响和健康风险。结果表明，海滩区的 Fe、Pb、Cu、Mn 和 Zn 浓度低于各自的背景水平，而 Cd 浓度则超过相应的背景水平。PCA 显示 Al-Qundudah 海滩上的 Pb、Fe 和 Mn 含量最高，而 Al-Lith 海滩上的 Cd 和 Cu 含量最高，Jeddah 海滩上的 Zn 含量最高。PI 值突出显示了所有指定海滩上 Cd 污染的极高水平。这些发现为进一步调查可能与 Cd 污染有关的健康问题，如慢性肾脏病 (CKD)、佝偻病和骨质疏松症，提供了基础。
