IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i22p15105-d974454.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contamination, Source Identification, Ecological and Human Health Risks Assessment of Potentially Toxic-Elements in Soils of Typical Rare-Earth Mining Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Jiajia Fan

    (Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region, Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China)

  • Li Deng

    (Ecological Environment Planning and Environmental Protection Technology Center of Qinghai Province, Xining 810007, China)

  • Weili Wang

    (Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China)

  • Xiu Yi

    (Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region, Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China)

  • Zhiping Yang

    (Jiangxi Research Academy of Ecological Civilization, Nanchang 330036, China)

Abstract

The mining and leaching processes of rare-earth mines can include the entry of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) into the environment, causing ecological risks and endangering human health. However, the identification of ecological risks and sources of PTEs in rare-earth mining areas is less comprehensive. Hence, we determine the PTE (Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, V) content in soils around rare-earth mining areas in the south and analyze the ecological health risks, distribution characteristics, and sources of PTEs in the study area using various indices and models. The results showed that the average concentrations of Co, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were higher than the soil background values, with a maximum of 1.62 times. The spatial distribution of PTEs was not homogeneous and the hot spots were mostly located near roads and mining areas. The ecological risk index and the non-carcinogenic index showed that the contribution was mainly from Co, Pb, and Cr, which accounted for more than 90%. Correlation analysis and PMF models indicated that eight PTEs were positively correlated, and rare-earth mining operations (concentration of 22.85%) may have caused Pb and Cu enrichment in soils in the area, while other anthropogenic sources of pollution were industrial emissions and agricultural pollution. The results of the study can provide a scientific basis for environmental-pollution assessment and prevention in rare-earth mining cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiajia Fan & Li Deng & Weili Wang & Xiu Yi & Zhiping Yang, 2022. "Contamination, Source Identification, Ecological and Human Health Risks Assessment of Potentially Toxic-Elements in Soils of Typical Rare-Earth Mining Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-17, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15105-:d:974454
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15105/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15105/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feng Jiang & Bozhi Ren & Andrew S. Hursthouse & Yingying Zhou, 2018. "Trace Metal Pollution in Topsoil Surrounding the Xiangtan Manganese Mine Area (South-Central China): Source Identification, Spatial Distribution and Assessment of Potential Ecological Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guangjie Zhao & Xianqing Li & Jiewang Zhu & Xueyan Zhao & Jizhen Zhang & Jia Zhai, 2021. "Pollution Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Soils around the Yanzhuang Gold Mine Tailings Pond, Pinggu County, Beijing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    2. Xinchun Liu & Yongde Kang & Hongna Chen & Hui Lu, 2021. "Application of a High-Precision Aeolian Sand Collector in Field Wind and Sand Surveys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Xiaoqian Li & Yaning Tang & Xinghua Wang & Xiaodong Song & Jiaxue Yang, 2023. "Heavy Metals in Soil around a Typical Antimony Mine Area of China: Pollution Characteristics, Land Cover Influence and Source Identification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Yujie Pan & Hongxia Peng & Shuyun Xie & Min Zeng & Changsheng Huang, 2019. "Eight Elements in Soils from a Typical Light Industrial City, China: Spatial Distribution, Ecological Assessment, and the Source Apportionment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Xin Luo & Bozhi Ren & Andrew S. Hursthouse & Jonathan R. M. Thacker & Zhenghua Wang, 2020. "Soil from an Abandoned Manganese Mining Area (Hunan, China): Significance of Health Risk from Potentially Toxic Element Pollution and Its Spatial Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-15, September.
    6. Chenglin Yuan & Siqi Liang & Xiaohong Wu & Taimoor Hassan Farooq & Tingting Liu & Yu Hu & Guangjun Wang & Jun Wang & Wende Yan, 2022. "Land Use Changes Influence the Soil Enzymatic Activity and Nutrient Status in the Polluted Taojia River Basin in Sub-Tropical China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-10, October.
    7. Zhao Liu & Ye Kuang & Shengtao Lan & Wenjia Cao & Ziqi Yan & Li Chen & Qianlong Chen & Qi Feng & Hong Zhou, 2021. "Pollution Distribution of Potentially Toxic Elements in a Karstic River Affected by Manganese Mining in Changyang, Western Hubei, Central China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    8. Zhendong He & Bozhi Ren & Andrew Hursthouse & Zhenghua Wang, 2020. "Efficient Removal of Cd(II) Using SiO 2 -Mg(OH) 2 Nanocomposites Derived from Sepiolite," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15105-:d:974454. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.