Heavy Metals in Iron Tailing Around River Sediments of Xiangshan: Status, Risks, and Human Health Threats

作者：Jun Chen, Guangcheng Xiong, Shutong Zhang, Xianghui Lv, Qiang Tang, Qiuhong Zhou · 发表于：Toxics · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/toxics14040284 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Heavy metals in environment、Mine drainage and remediation techniques、Environmental Quality and Pollution

The heavy metal pollution linked to extractive activities has attracted broad public attention. To examine the current state of heavy metal pollution in river sediments around iron tailing zones, this study was carried out to evaluate the distribution features, potential sources, and environmental hazards of heavy metals (HMs, Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, As, and Hg) in the surface sediments of rivers in the Xiangshan area of Ma'anshan City. Results indicated that, except for Cr, the mean heavy metal concentrations exceeded the soil background levels in Anhui's Huaihe River Basin. Variability in metal concentrations among the sediments was moderate, exhibiting an uneven spatial distribution. Significant positive correlations were detected between various HMs in the sediments, suggesting a common pollution source. Source analysis findings revealed that the HMs primarily originate from agricultural fertilization, mining, and smelting activities. Evaluation results from both the single-factor pollution index and the Nemerow comprehensive index indicated that the upstream section of the Caishi River is severely polluted by HMs. The potential ecological risk index evaluation results demonstrated that 85% of sediment samples from sampling points achieved a high comprehensive potential ecological risk level for HMs, with Cd, Cu, and Hg identified as the key contributors. The human health risk assessment demonstrated that both adults and children are subjected to carcinogenic risks from h...