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To assess the health risks caused by soil heavy metal in China's mining areas, concentration data for eight heavy metals in 77 mines were collected from previous literature. Monte Carlo simulation was used to analyze the corresponding carcinogenic risks and noncarcinogenic risks, and sensitivity analysis was carried out for each parameter. The results showed that among the different types of mining areas, multi-metal mines have the highest risk of carcinogenesis, followed by tungsten and antimony mines. Their carcinogenic risk values are all greater than 10−4, which is unacceptable. Pb is a heavy metal with highest noncarcinogenic risk. The log-transformed value is 3.2, which is much larger than the threshold of 0; Pb is followed by As and Hg. Therefore, Pb, As, and Hg are the heavy metals that should be controlled preferentially in polluted mining areas. Sensitivity analysis showed that the soil ingestion rate, exposure frequency, and pollutant concentration level are the factors that have the greatest impacts on health risks. More attention should be paid to these factors when addressing heavy metal pollution in mining areas. In addition, for the surveyed mines, children had a greater health risk than adults, so children should be given extra attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals (HMs) in drinking water have drawn worldwide attention due to their risks to public health; however, a systematic assessment of the occurrence of HMs in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) at a large geographical scale across China and the removal efficiency, human health risks, and the correlation with environmental factors have yet to be established. Therefore, this study characterised the occurrence patterns of nine conventional dissolved HMs in the influent and effluent water samples from 146 typical DWTPs in seven major river basins across China (which consist of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Songhua River, the Pearl River, the Huaihe River, the Liaohe River and the Haihe River) for the first time and removal efficiency, probabilistic health risks, and the correlation with water quality. According to the findings, a total of eight HMs (beryllium (Be), antimony (Sb), barium (Ba), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), cobalt (Co) and titanium (Ti)) were detected, with detection frequencies in influent and effluent water ranging from 2.90 (Mo) to 99.30% (Ba) and 1.40 (Ti) to 97.90% (Ba), respectively. The average concentration range was 0.41 (Be)− 77.36 (Sb) μg/L. Among them, Sb (exceeding standard rate 8%), Ba (2.89%), Ni (21.43%), and V (1.33%) were exceeded the national standard (GB5749–2022). By combining Spearman's results and redundancy analysis, our results revealed a close correlation among pH, turbidity (TURB), potassium permanganate index (COD Mn), and total nitrogen (TN) along with the concentration and composition of HMs. In addition, the concentration of HMs in finished water was strongly affected by the concentration of HMs in raw water, as evidenced by the fact that HMs in surface water poses a risk to the quality of finished water. Metal concentration was the primary factor in assessing the health risk of a single metal, and the carcinogenic risk of Ba, Mo, Ni, and Sb should be paid attention to. In DWTPs, the removal efficiencies of various HMs also vary greatly, with an average removal rate ranging from 16.30% to 95.64%. In summary, our findings provide insights into the water quality and health risks caused by HMs in drinking water. [Display omitted] • First study to assess nine heavy metals in 146 DWTPs across China. • High levels of Ba, Ni, Sb, and V were exceeded the guideline recommended by the China. • Strong correlations exist between the pH, turbidity, COD Mn, TN and heavy metals. • The health risk of Ba, Mo, Ni, and Sb should be concerned. • The mean removal ratios of heavy metals in the studied DWTPs were 16.30–95.64%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landfill-induced heavy metal (HM) contamination of soils is a widespread and complex problem. The levels and potential hazards of HM contamination in landfills must be evaluated before they can be reused for any purpose. In order to reuse a historical landfill in northern China, 376 sampling sites were selected in 2019 using the checkerboard layout method, and the levels of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), antimony (Sb), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), and thallium (Tl) in the soil were measured. Multiple evaluation methods established the HM pollution levels, agricultural suitability, and health risks associated with the sampling sites. In most parts of the study area, the concentrations of all nine HMs exceeded the screening levels and maximum allowable concentrations for agricultural soils. Only the soils in Zones 5 and 6 can be used for agricultural activity. Moreover, the deep soils were heavily contaminated with HMs in certain areas, possibly because of leaching and infiltration in the surface soil and the rise and diffusion of polluted groundwater. The soil HMs in the study area posed a higher carcinogenic risks to both adults and children. The average carcinogenic risk associated with As was 6.12 × 10−4, which was the major contributor to carcinogenic risk at all HM-contaminated sites. The results of this work empirically demonstrated that soil HM pollution is severe and problematic in the study area and remedial measures are urgently required. [Display omitted] • Nine HMs measured at 376 sampling sites at historical landfill in Northern China. • As & Ni contributed to the majority of the HM burden in adjacent soil & groundwater. • Arsenic was associated with the highest carcinogenic risk to children and adults. • Most sites in the study area are unsuitable for farming & crop cultivation purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of several studies on environmental geochemistry. Some of the abstracts presented include "Biogeochemical Cycling of Nutrients in Karstic Catchments, Southwestern China: Linkages to Changes of Eco-Environments," by Congqiang Liu and "Emerging Organic Contamination in China," by Guibin Jiang and colleagues.