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Ecological risk, health risk assessment, and pollution source analysis of Xinli Lake wetland based on triangular fuzzy number

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Abstract

Wetland environmental pollution has become a global problem involving the ecological environment and human health. This study measured the concentration of seven potentially toxic elements (PTEs Hg, Cd, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, and As) in the soil upstream of the Xinli Lake wetland in China. Based on the fuzzy theory, the sources, spatial distribution, ecological risks, and health risks of pollutants are studied. The result shows that the concentrations of the seven potentially toxic elements are close to or exceed the background value, and their spatial distribution showed irregular changes. The soil upstream of the wetland has not been seriously polluted, and Cd, which has higher bioavailability, is the priority element for ecological risk. Pollutants do not harm human health; children face higher health risks; Pb and As have the highest carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks, respectively. Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, and As in the study area are derived from agricultural activities, while Hg and Cd are mainly affected by soil-forming parent materials. Attention should be paid to controlling the intensity of agricultural activities to avoid excessive input and accumulation of pollutants that would harm the ecological environment and human health.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Fund of China (grant no. 51604140), National Key R&D Program of China (grant no. 2017YFC1503102), and the project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant no. 2018 M631815).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mining, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, 123000, China

    Xuedong Wang, Chaobiao Zhang, Shiyu Li, Cui Wang, Haoren Wang & Yunhao Cui

  2. Research Station on Mechanics for Postdoctoral Fellows, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, 123000, China

    Xuedong Wang

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  1. Xuedong Wang
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  2. Chaobiao Zhang
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  3. Shiyu Li
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Contributions

W.X. and Z.C. conceived the idea and performed the laboratory analysis. W.X. and Z.C also analyzed the data and wrote the paper. L.S, W.C, W.H, and C.Y designed the investigation and validation. All of the authors contributed to finalizing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xuedong Wang.

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Wang, X., Zhang, C., Li, S. et al. Ecological risk, health risk assessment, and pollution source analysis of Xinli Lake wetland based on triangular fuzzy number. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 22334–22347 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12301-x

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