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Human Exposure Risks for Metals in Soil Near a Coal-Fired Power-Generating Plant

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Abstract

Coal-fired thermal power stations (TPSs) may contaminate the surrounding soil and could lead to pollution levels that can affect human health. Soil samples collected from the immediate vicinity of a TPS were analysed for heavy metals. TPS soils were enriched with arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), barium (Ba), vanadium (V), beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni). Enrichment factor, principal component, and cluster analyses suggest that As, Cd, Co, Cr, and Hg in TPS soils originated from the TPS, whereas Pb and Zn were from vehicular/traffic-related emissions. The human exposure risk assessment based on different exposure pathways showed that the hazard index (HI) was <1.0 for all of the elements. The relative exposure risk was greater for toddlers. Although the overall risk was within the acceptable limit of 1.00, the HIs of Co (0.15) and Cr (0.082) were close to the threshold limits, which over the long-term may pose a health risk.

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Acknowledgments

We express our thanks to the Director, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, India, for supporting this publication. Financial support availed from the Network Project NWP-0017 (11th Five Year Plan), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Tofan K. Rout

    Present address: Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facility, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, 226002, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Management Division, CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (Digwadih Campus), Dhanbad, 828108, India

    Joshy George, Reginald E. Masto, Lal C. Ram, Tarit B. Das & Tofan K. Rout

  2. School of Environmental Sciences, M. G. University, Kottayam, 686560, India

    Joshy George & Mahesh Mohan

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Correspondence to Reginald E. Masto.

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George, J., Masto, R.E., Ram, L.C. et al. Human Exposure Risks for Metals in Soil Near a Coal-Fired Power-Generating Plant. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 68, 451–461 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-014-0111-x

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