Bioaccessibility-Based Fuzzy Health Risk Assessment and Integrated Management of Toxic Metals Through Multimedia Environmental Exposure near Urban Industrial Complexes

Few studies have explored the holistic public health risk assessment associated with toxic elements (TEs) and their bioaccessibility in integrated urban environmental media including soils, vegetables, atmospheric particles, dust, etc. Urban industrial complex areas like Qingshan-Chemical District (QCD) in the Chinese Wuhan city, located within the Yangtze River Economic Belt, face increasing environmental exposure risks due to industrial activities. This study innovatively assessed the hierarchical risks of toxic metals in 4 environmental media (air PM, dust, soil, vegetables) from the QCD based on field sampling and chemical analysis, and developed an improved fuzzy health risk assessment model based on toxic metals' in vitro bioaccessibilities of different exposure pathways and triangular fuzzy numbers for handling parameter uncertainties. The study found that the highest health risks were associated with ingestion, particularly from consuming homegrown vegetables. Carcinogenic risks for arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) via ingestion exceeded the admissible threshold of 1.00 × 10^-6, with As showing the highest risk ([1.92 × 10^-3, 2.37 × 10^-3]), followed by Cd ([2.98 × 10^-5, 3.67 × 10^-5]) and Pb ([7.92 × 10^-7, 1.48 × 10^-6]). Inhalation risks from soil, dust, and air particulates were below the threshold, indicating lower respiratory concerns. Dermal exposure, especially from soil and dust, posed elevated carcinogenic risks for As ([7.47 × 10^-6, 8.06 × 10^-6]). With the screened priority risk control toxic metals and pathways, the targeted measures including relocating vegetable planting areas, promoting cultivation of low-enrichment crops, building vegetation buffer zones around the industrial park, etc., were proposed.