Health risk assessment and risk spatial distribution of Pb in the soil at a coal chemical plant area in northwest China

Abstract

The coal chemical plant area in Northwest China was studied.The Pb content in total of 153 soil samples were tested.The model of heath risk assessment recommended by US EPA was adopted to evaluate the health risk of Pb.The geostatistical analysis and GIS technology then were used to study the spatial distribution patterns of the evaluated results，and non-carcinogenic risk distribution for Pb was drawn.The results show that the range of Pb content in soil was among 14.81～19.21 mg/kg，the average concent was 17.08mg/kg，and the Pb concentration of all sampling points was lower than that in Ningxia.The range of total non-carcinogenic risk was among 7.280×10-3～9.44×10-3 with a mean value of 8.40×10-3，which was much lower than the risk limit 1.00.The non-carcinogenic risk of Pb is much higher in such areas as flow channel，highway，power unit，logistics gateway and coal transportation corridor.It should be noted that the non-carcinogenic risk of Pb is highest up to 9.181×10-3 in flow channel and coal transportation corridor.In this study，the Kriging interpolation method was used to evaluate the health risk of Pb，and the continuous evaluation of the health risk in the plant area was realized，which could provide a guidance for the monitoring and control of Pb content in the soil of the coal chemical plant area.

Keywords

• coal chemical plant
• pb
• kriging interpolation method
• health risk assessment