Multi-compartment Assessment of Lead Contamination and Ecological Risk in Soils, Sediments, Surface Waters, and Mining Residues of a Semiarid Mining–Agricultural Region in Mexico

Heavy metal contamination, source apportionment and health risk in soil-crop systems of high-geochemical-background Pb-Zn mining area

Summary Mining and smelting, combined with high-geochemical-backgrounds, cause heavy metal accumulation in soil-crop systems, endangering food-chain health. Topsoil (0–20 cm) and three local crops were sampled from Yunnan’s Huize lead-zinc mining area. Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd contamination, spatial patterns, source contribution...

Land-use and depth-dependent distribution of potentially toxic elements and ecological risk in soils of a phosphate-mining watershed upstream of Dianchi Lake, China

Trace-element enrichment in agricultural soils under wastewater-influenced surface-water irrigation: a plot-scale study in an Andean micro-watershed

The use of wastewater-influenced surface waters for agricultural irrigation is common in many regions, yet its implications for soil geochemistry remain insufficiently characterized, particularly in Andean micro-watersheds. This study evaluates the occurrence and distribution of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in a...

Heavy Metal Contamination and Human Health Risk Assessment of Farmland Soils in Ndele, an Oil-Producing Community in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Agricultural soils in oil-producing regions of the Niger Delta may receive persistent trace-metal inputs from petroleum-related activities and other anthropogenic sources, creating potential implications for soil quality, crop production and human exposure. This study assessed cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As...

Integrated risk assessment of heavy metal and microbial exposure in coastal agricultural systems

Environmental contamination in coastal agricultural systems frequently involves the simultaneous occurrence of chemical pollutants and microbiological hazards, creating complex risks for ecosystems, livestock, food safety, and human health. The present study provides an integrated assessment of heavy metal contaminatio...

Pollution and ecological risk of the potentially toxic elements (arsenic, lead, and cadmium) in acid mine drainage-impacted waters of Lake Uru Uru and tributaries, a Ramsar site, Bolivia

Acid mine drainage (AMD), owing to its high content of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), impacts ecosystem health through the contamination of tributary rivers. This study evaluates the spatial and temporal distribution of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) in the surface waters and AMD of the Lake Uru Uru wate...