Heavy Metal Contamination and Health RiskAssessment in Surface Soilsof Xuancheng City, Anhui Province, China

A health risk assessment of heavy metals in soil can screen for optimal control of pollutants.To investigate the typical heavy metal content levels, pollution situation, and potential health risks to surrounding residents in the soil of Xuancheng City, Anhui Province, China, 68 surface soil samples were sampled.Atomic Fluorescence Photometer and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer are used to determine the content of typical heavy metals, including As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn, in the soil.Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of heavy metals to children and adults were evaluated.Results indicated that Hg and Pb in the soils in the study area exceeded the corresponding background values, and Hg showed the highest coefficient of variation of 1.05.The spatial distribution showed that As, Ni, and Zn showed a decreasing trend from the edge to the center, while the other five heavy metals showed a decreasing trend from the center to the periphery.Health risk evaluation results showed higher total non-carcinogenic risk (HI) and total carcinogenic risk (TCR) for children than for adults by 6.23 and 2.73 times, respectively, indicating children are more susceptible to non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks.In addition, As, Cr, and Pb were the main contributors to the non-carcinogenic risk, while As and Cd were the main contributors to the carcinogenic risk.The research results can provide a reference for the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution in the study area.