Assessment of the Health Effects of Heavy Metals Pollution of Agricultural Soils in the Iron Ore Mining Area of the Northern Piedmont of Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province, China

We have measured the concentrations of toxic elements (Cd, Pb, As, and Hg) in 29 samples from agricultural soils in an iron ore mining area in the northern piedmont of Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, China. The aim was to evaluate the potential health risks to local inhabitants based on the health risk assessment model derived from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The results show that the concentrations of the four heavy metals exceed their background values, especially in the case of Hg. The pollution level of the four heavy metals can be ordered as follows: Hg > Cd > Pb > As. The spatial distribution of the concentrations of the four heavy metals was uneven: pollution levels were lowest in the basin of the E River, and centered on the E River there was an increasing trend towards the Yukou River in the west and the Yangyan River in the east. In terms of the degree of pollution, this trend can be summarized as: Qingyang River > Yangyan River > Yukou River > E River. The main form of ingestion of the metals was via mouth and nose, and the risk to children is higher than for adults. Iron ore mining was the main cause of the increased concentrations of As and Cd, which represent a cancer risk for humans.