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Distribution, bioavailability, and human health risk assessment of arsenic in groundwater-soil-rice system in the Jianghan Plain, Central China

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Abstract

Many studies have reported high arsenic concentrations in the groundwater and soil of the Jianghan Plain (JHP), an important rice production base in China. However, no comprehensive study on the occurrence and risk of As in groundwater-soil-rice systems in this region has been conducted. In this study, As concentrations in groundwater, soil, rice straw, and rice grain samples were analyzed. Arsenic concentrations were found to range from BDL to 42.88 μg/L (median 0.34 μg/L) in phreatic water, BDL to 41.77 μg/L (median 8.64 μg/L) in soil pore water, 10.20 to 21.90 mg/kg (mean 16.52 mg/kg) in soil, 0.204 to 2.860 mg/kg (mean 0.847 mg/kg) in rice straw, and 0.131 to 0.951 mg/kg (mean 0.449 mg/kg) in rice grain. Arsenic uptake by rice from soils was evaluated according to bioavailable As defined by chemical extraction and diffusive gradients in thin films. The results indicated that owing to the low content of highly mobile As fractions, the less mobile As fraction (mainly bound with amorphous Fe/Al (hydr)oxides) also contributed to bioavailable As, suggesting that amorphous Fe/Al bound As should be considered in analyzing bioavailable As. In terms of the geoaccumulation index and the Chinese paddy soil standard (GB15618-2018) limit (25 mg/kg), As pollution in water and soils in the study area is at a low level and can be considered relatively safe. However, the target hazard quotients and cancer risk assessment indicated that As pollution is at a dangerous level with potential human health risk. According to the bioconcentration factor, the bioavailability of soil is higher in JHP compared with other rice-growing areas owing to the unique hydrogeological conditions and irrigation using groundwater with high As content. Rice planting areas in JHP should be set as far away from large rivers as possible, and groundwater with high As concentrations must be pre-treated prior to irrigation.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41521001, 41630318), the Project of China Geological Survey (Nos. 2019040022, DD20190263, 121201001000150121), and the Research Program for Geological Processes, Resources and Environment in the Yangtze River Basin (No. CUGCJ1702). We thank Meiji Editor, Shenzhen, China (https://www.mjeditor.com), for editing the English text of a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41521001, 41630318), the Project of China Geological Survey (Nos. 2019040022, DD20190263, 121201001000150121), and the Research Program for Geological Processes, Resources and Environment in the Yangtze River Basin (No. CUGCJ1702).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Lumo Road 388, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Haotian Yu, Teng Ma, Yao Du, Shuai Shen & Zhihui Han

  2. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Haotian Yu, Teng Ma, Yao Du, Shuai Shen & Zhihui Han

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  1. Haotian Yu
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HY: conceptualization, data curation, investigation, methodology, writing—original draft preparation. TM: conceptualization, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, writing—review and editing. YD: methodology, writing—review and editing. SS and ZH: data curation, investigation.

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Correspondence to Teng Ma.

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Yu, H., Ma, T., Du, Y. et al. Distribution, bioavailability, and human health risk assessment of arsenic in groundwater-soil-rice system in the Jianghan Plain, Central China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 16193–16202 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16497-4

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