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Measurement of Exposure and Dose
Published in Samuel C. Morris, Cancer Risk Assessment, 2020
Contaminated soil poses risks in several ways: direct contact, especially to children; entrainment of soil into the air and subsequent inhalation; leaching of contaminants into groundwater; volatilization of contaminants from the soil into the air; and transfer of contaminants from the soil into the food chain through uptake through the roots of plants. Soil may be contaminated by deposition from the air, direct spills or dumping of contaminants, movement of contaminants from nearby contaminated soil, and volatilization of contaminant gases in ground water. Measurement of soil contamination is probably more closely tied to the contamination source than is the case for other environmental media. Spatial sampling design is also especially important in soil sampling. Geological and hydro-logic factors, soil characterization, and location of potential sources of contamination must be considered. Contamination must be measured as a function of soil depth. The depth of concern depends upon the circumstances of contamination and potential exposure. For hand-to-mouth exposure in children, the first few centimeter are important; for uptake to plants, the depth will depend on the local species and how deep their roots penetrate; for potential groundwater contamination, a profile of soil contamination with depth will be useful to trace the penetration of contaminants through the unsaturated zone.
Chemical injuries
Published in Jan de Boer, Marcel Dubouloz, Handbook of Disaster Medicine, 2020
For large chemical releases, there is the potential hazard of secondary exposure through environmental contamination. This was mentioned above in the context of water pollution, but it may occur if land surfaces are contaminated from explosions or toxic clouds. Of particular risk under such circumstances are children who tend to have much greater exposures to soil contamination than do most adults20.
ILVA: A Case of Shared Responsibilities for the Protection of the Environment and Public Health
Published in Stefania Negri, Environmental Health in International and EU Law, 2019
The main consequences of this situation entail air pollution, damage to agricultural production (and hence food safety issues), landscape degradation, soil contamination, poisoning of surface water and aquifers, including the deterioration of water quality. The major pollutants released into the environment include PAH, benzopyrene, dioxins, metals and harmful powders. These have been detected in the coke ovens, the mining area, the agglomerated area and the steelworks area.10 Investigations have also reported an illicit activity of production and discharge of toxic and dangerous waste, along with scattering of toxic sludges contaminated by micro-pollutants without authorization.11
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil situated around solid waste dumpsite in Awka, Nigeria
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2023
Chiedozie C. Aralu, Patrice-Anthony C. Okoye, Kovo G. Akpomie, Helen O. Chukwuemeka‐Okorie, Hillary O. Abugu
Research has been conducted on the environmental effects of the use of unlined dumpsite on the environment (Zhang 2017, Okechukwu et al.2021). The leachates and gases emanating from the use of unsanitary dumpsites pose high risks to the populace when they infiltrate the dumpsite and pollute the soil within the area. Those living close to the dumpsite are in great danger based on the environmental threat of PAHs to their body system (Adetona et al. 2020). Nowadays, due to the use of the land near the landfill for agricultural and human settlement, the unregulated release of gases and leachates from the dumpsites has become a public concern to the soil contamination of the study area. Therefore, due to little information on the soil contamination of the area close to the landfill, the work was designed to evaluate the pollution levels of PAHs in the soil, identification of the PAHs using diagnostic ratios and the cancer risk assessment through dermal and ingestion routes.
Contamination and human health risk assessment of heavy metals in soil of a municipal solid waste dumpsite in Khamees-Mushait, Saudi Arabia
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Ismat H. Ali, Saifeldin M. Siddeeg, Abubakr M. Idris, Eid I. Brima, Khalid A. Ibrahim, Sara A. M. Ebraheem, Muhammad Arshad
Soil is a crucial component of ecological systems and plays an essential role in human existence through its direct or indirect contribution to the human quality of life (Sheppard et al. 2000, Luo et al. 2012). Heavy metals can accumulate in soils from various sources and through different routes, and hence soil influences the cycling of elements and disturbs their biochemical transformations (Stroganova et al. 1997, Hovmand et al. 2008). These processes, which are involved in heavy metals circulations within the soil, are prolonged and complex and they are the cause of why soil could be considered a nonrenewable resource. Consequently, soil contamination by heavy metals, whether through natural weathering of parent materials or anthropogenic activities, has attracted the interest of many scientists (Aelion et al. 2008, Çolak 2012, Rodrigues et al. 2013, Ashaiekh et al. 2019).
Toxic metals in agricultural soils near the industrial areas of Bangladesh: ecological and human health risk assessment
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Tapos Kormoker, Ram Proshad, Saiful Islam, Saad Ahmed, Krishno Chandra, Minhaz Uddin, Mahfuzur Rahman
Soil is a vital element for human life to survive the planet which is assumed as prime receiver of persistent pollutants such as toxic metals (Karim et al.2014, Islam et al.2015a, Proshad et al.2018a). Soil contamination by toxic metals is a substantial environmental problem worldwide (Alloway 1995, due to their wide sources, toxicity, and nonbiodegradable nature (Yuan et al.2011, Zhao et al.2014, Islam et al.2015b, Bhuyan et al.2017, Islam et al.2018). According to the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA), toxic metals such as chromium, nickel, copper, arsenic, cadmium, and lead have been considered as the most toxic metals in the environment (Lei et al.2010, Proshad et al.2017). In recent decades, contamination of soils occurs due to various toxic metals from rapid industrialization and development and it has become more severe for developing countries like Bangladesh due to its indiscriminate growing industries without any proper planning (Sun et al.2010, Chen et al.2010, Shi et al.2011, Ahmed et al.2015). Heavy metals may originate in soils around the industrial areas from numerous sources but industrial activities such as generation of power, manufacturing, burning of fossil fuel, and disposal of waste are the most important contributors of soil pollution (Karim et al.2014, Rodríguez Martín et al.2014, Islam et al.2016). Almost all industrial units are discharging their untreated wastes in the surface drains and spread over agricultural fields. Toxic elements toxicity changes agricultural soil bionetworks that have a significant negative consequence on the productivity of land (Khan et al.2010, Yuan et al.2014).