Assessing the Risk of Total and Available Potentially Toxic Elements in Agricultural Soil in Typical Mining Areas in Xiangjiang River Basin, Hunan Province

Abstract

In this study, soil and rice samples from 85 sites in six cities in Hunan Province were analyzed for Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Hg, Mn, and Co (total and bioavailable concentrations for soil) in July 2014. The results indicated that the total concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Hg in soil had increased significantly compared with the 1980s, and were correlated with their bioavailable concentrations in soil positively. The total concentrations of Cd and Co in soil were correlated with those in rice. Bioavailable concentrations of Cd, Mn, Co, Pb, and Cu represented 64.4%, 33.2%, 12.0%, 11.6%, and 6.1% of the total soil concentrations, respectively. The bioavailable concentrations of Cd and Co in soil had a extremely significant (p < 0.01) positive correlation with those in rice, suggesting that bioavailable concentrations was a better indicator for soil potentially toxic elements contamination. The pH values had a significant influence on the bioavailability of Cd and Cu and the amounts taken up by rice. The Cd contamination in 27.0% rice samples exceeded World Health Organization recommended thresholds. The results added basic pollution distribution data, further revealing the relationships of metals in soil and crops and would offer great help to the metallic pollution control in these areas.

Keywords

• industrial and agricultural regions
• soil pollution
• potentially toxic elements
• rice contamination
• risk evaluation