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Assessment of arsenic (As) occurrence in arable soil and its related health risk in China

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) is a major global environmental pollutant due to its high toxicity on human and animal health. This study collected 427 relevant papers to study As concentrations in Chinese arable soil and evaluate the health risk of exposure to As for humans. Results showed that the average of As concentration was 9.46 mg/kg in Chinese arable soil. Soil As concentrations in Hunan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region posed high carcinogenic and non-cancer risks on human health through diet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Xinjiang provinces had relative high health risks, while As concentrations in the other provinces posed low health risks on humans. The physical factors controlled the spatial pattern of health risk on a provincial scale, but the As-related human activities introduced high health risk on people, particularly the agricultural activities such as sewage irrigation and fertilizer application should be given more attention due to its large area.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41271190), State Scholarship Fund of China (No. 201208320130), and an Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing (OFSLRSS201312).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu Province, China

    Xiuying Zhang, Min Cheng, Lei Liu, Xiaomin Zhang & Xinhui Li

  2. School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Road, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu Province, China

    Taiyang Zhong

  3. Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, ONK7L 3N6, Canada

    Dongmei Chen

  4. Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Min Cheng, Lei Liu, Xiaomin Zhang & Xinhui Li

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  1. Xiuying Zhang
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  2. Taiyang Zhong
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  3. Dongmei Chen
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  4. Min Cheng
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  6. Xiaomin Zhang
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  7. Xinhui Li
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Correspondence to Xiuying Zhang.

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Zhang, X., Zhong, T., Chen, D. et al. Assessment of arsenic (As) occurrence in arable soil and its related health risk in China. Environ Geochem Health 38, 691–702 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9751-7

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