Regional assessment of cadmium pollution in agricultural lands and thepotential health risk related to intensive mining activities:A case study in Chenzhou City, China
ZHAI Limei , LIAO Xiaoyong , CHEN Tongbin , YAN Xiulan , XIE Hua , WU Bin , WANG Lixia
DOI:
Received August 24, 2007,Revised October 20, 2007, Accepted , Available online
Volume 20,2008,Pages 696-703
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The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soil and its potential risk for people.
Soils, rice, and vegetables from Chenzhou City, Southern China were sampled and analyzed. In the surface soils, the 95% confidence
interval for the mean concentration of Cd varied between 2.72 and 4.83 mg/kg (P < 0.05) in the survey, with a geometric mean
concentration of 1.45 mg/kg. Based on the GIS map, two hot spot areas of Cd in agricultural soils with high Cd concentrations were
identified to be located around the Shizhuyuan, Jinshiling, and Yaogangxian mines, and the Baoshan and Huangshaping mines, in the
center of the city. About 60% of the total investigated area, where the agricultural soil Cd concentration is above 1 mg/kg, is distributed
in a central belt across the region. The critical distances, at which the soil Cd concentration were increased by the mining activities,
from the mines of the soils were 23 km for the Baoshan mine, 46 km for the Huangshaping mine, and 63 km for the Shizhuyuan mine,
respectively. These are distances calculated from models. The Cd concentrations in rice samples ranged from 0.01 to 4.43 mg/kg and
the mean dietary Cd intake from rice for an adult was 191 g/d. Results of risk indexes showed that soil Cd concentrations possessed
risks to local residents whose intake of Cd from rice and vegetables grown in soils in the vicinity of the mine was 596 μg/d.
