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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Hazards and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2023) | Viewed by 14991

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Di Zhao

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Guest Editor

College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Interests: environmental exposure and human health; risk assessment; metal contamination; contaminant bioavailability and bioaccessibility; interventions to reduce human metal exposure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Each day, humans are exposed to toxic chemicals through multiple pathways, e.g., the inhalation of dust, consumption of contaminated drinking water, direct ingestion of soil and consumption of food plants grown in contaminated soil. Understanding the long-term health effects of environmental exposure, their interactions with genetic and epigenetic variants and effective interventions for reducing involuntary exposure to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health.

This Special Issue focuses on the current state of knowledge regarding environmental exposure, risk assessment and its health effects. We welcome manuscripts from different disciplines covering a range of topics, including the source identification of human exposure, contaminant bioavailability and bioaccessibility in different environmental matrices, biological monitoring in in vivo and in vitro studies, risk assessment and long-term health effects of human exposure and intervention strategies to reduce human exposure.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Di Zhao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

environmental exposure
health effects
risk assessment
heavy metals
biological monitoring
bioavailability and bioaccessibility
intervention strategies

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3005 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Assessment Framework for Human Health Risk from Heavy Metals in Coal Chemical Industry Soils in Northwest China

by Wenming Wang, Yang Zhao, Yichi Ma, Chunying Guo and Jianli Jia

Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 14768; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014768 - 11 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1121

Abstract

Coal chemical industry (CCI) sites are characterized by complex environmental media, combined heavy metal pollution, and diverse exposure routes. However, existing human health risk assessment (HHRA) methods have multiple drawbacks, such as their small scope of application, limited assessment factors, and insufficient case applications. After 128 soil samples were collected, the contents of Be, V, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Hg in the soils were analyzed based on general risk assessment guideline of China. Then, risk levels were calculated based on oral ingestion, skin contact and inhalation as the main exposure routes to compare and screen priority heavy metals. Furthermore, control values were identified through a contribution rate calculation model when CR > 10⁻⁶ or HQ > 1. As reference values, risk thresholds were proposed for heavy metals, and then a soil HHRA framework for the CCI site was constructed. Under the three exposure routes, the total CR was As > 10⁻⁶, and the total HQ was 1 > As > Cd; the HHRs related to As and V via the oral ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation pathways were 76.67%, 13.13%, and 10.18% and 1.66%, 0, and 98.34%, respectively. The risk control value of As was 1.59 mg/kg and that of V was 25.1 mg/kg. Based on these results, the threshold values for priority heavy metals should be based on comprehensive considerations of the elemental background of a specific area, the contaminant criteria in different areas, the regional industrial development plan, and the most important control criterion, as well as the control value. Through the development of an HHRA framework and case verification, the authors of this article aim to guide CCI managers in screening priority heavy metals, formulating protection measures, developing improved operational procedures and improving the HHRA system for polluted CCI sites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Exposure, Risk Assessment and Public Health)

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18 pages, 2664 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cadmium Exposure and Renal Function Biomarkers: A 10-Year Follow-Up of Thailand’s Tak Province Population

by Rattawan Somporn, Natcha Chaiwong, Mehedi Mahmudul Hasan and Sanhawat Chaiwong

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11291; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411291 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1788

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that has been recognized as significant to environmental health. Thailand’s Tak Province, known for its historical mining and agricultural activities, has been identified as an area of high cadmium exposure. The objective of this investigation was to assess urinary cadmium (UCd), metallothionine in serum (B-MT-1), and kidney injured molecular-1 in urine (U-KIM-1). The target population and study area comprised individuals born between 1992–1999 in the zinc-mining areas of the Phatapadaeng, Mae Tao, and Mae Ku subdistricts of Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. The sample size was 122 participants and the criteria for inclusion were the individuals rechecked for UCd in 2016. The case definition included testing for UCd by ICP-MS, early renal dysfunction (U-KIM-1), amounts exceeding 0.20 µg/gCr, and environmental exposure to cadmium, indicated by B-MT-1 using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient (r), chi-square (χ²), and analysis of variance (ANOVA) at the 0.05 level of statistical significance to make inferences. The results indicate that 90.16% of the urine samples contained cadmium concentrations between 0.20 and 0.49 µg/gCr. The prevalence of MT-1 and KIM-1 in individuals aged 19–21 was 19.35% and 17.59%, respectively. We found that MT-1 was significantly higher among the residents of Phatadpadaeng, whereas KIM-1 was dominant among Mae Ku subdistrict participants. Females aged 15–18 and 19–21 had higher levels of MT-1 and KIM-1 compared to males in both age groups. The concentration of UCd was found to be higher among participants aged 15–18 and 19–21 years with UCd levels ranging between 0.20–0.49 µg/gCr-MT-1 and 0.50–0.80 µg/gCr-KIM-1. There was no correlation between age, gender, or region and MT-1 and KIM-1 detection. Menstruation is one of the risk factors for iron loss resulting in iron deficiency among teenage girls, and thus a source of cadmium bioavailability in the body. We, therefore, recommend that relevant authorities should focus on carrying out periodic surveillance among women aged 19 to 21 to identify those affected and subject them to treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Exposure, Risk Assessment and Public Health)

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15 pages, 1960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of the PDMS Passive Sampling Method to Assess Bioavailability and Health Risks Associated with PAH-Contaminated Soil

by Xiaoyang Jia, Danhua Yang, Yandan Li, Xiaoying Zhu, Lina Zhang and Jinsheng Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 9027; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15119027 - 2 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1316

Abstract

Integrating bioavailability into risk assessments is an effective way to objectively assess human health risks. In this study, the bioavailability of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soil from a coking plant was evaluated using the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) passive sampling method. The results showed that the bioavailability factor (BAF) of each PAH, predicted using PDMS fibers, ranged from 0.46% to 9.74%. The PDMS passive sampling method was more stable in testing the bioavailability of PAHs with more than 4 benzene rings; a preliminary relationship was established between the BAF and the log value of the octanol–water partition coefficient (logK_ow). After considering their bioavailability, the carcinogenic risks (CRs) and non-carcinogenic hazard quotients (HQs) associated with the 16 PAHs were reduced by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. Only the health risks associated with benzo(a)pyrene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene exceeded the acceptable level. The PDMS passive sampling method provides a useful tool for estimating oral bioavailability, and incorporating its results into human exposure testing can help to refine the health risk assessment of contaminants through oral ingestion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Exposure, Risk Assessment and Public Health)

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19 pages, 9213 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Slope Crack Propagation Law and Numerical Simulation of Expansive Soil under Wetting–Drying Cycles

by Xuanyi Chen, Xiaofei Jing, Xiaoshuang Li, Junji Chen, Qiang Ma and Xiaohua Liu

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5655; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075655 - 23 Mar 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2141

Abstract

This study investigated the crack propagation law of expansive soil slopes under drying–wetting conditions and the influence of cracks on slopes by conducting a large-scale indoor slope test subjected to drying–wetting cycles. The change in soil moisture content at different depths during the drying–wetting cycles was monitored using a moisture content sensor, and the variation in crack depths in the expansive soil during the drying process was measured using a crack depth detector. The cracks on the slope’s surface were processed using a self-made binarization program, and the crack evolution mechanism of the expansive soil during the drying process was analyzed. The rainfall-induced change in moisture content in the fractured soil was used to obtain the influence of moisture content change on expansive soils, and to analyze the dry–wet cycle failure mode of surface soil. The surface cracks of the soil were quantified by binary processing, and the area of the cracks and the area ratio of cracked soil to intact soil were calculated. Finally, by using PFC simulation software with the slope cracks and quantitative analysis results as parameters, it was confirmed that the greater the number of drying–wetting cycles, the greater the number of cracks, and the greater the damage to the slope. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Exposure, Risk Assessment and Public Health)

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22 pages, 5621 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lack of Spatial Planning as a Cause of Environmental Injustice in the Context of the Provision of Health Safety to Urban Residents Based on the Example of Warsaw

by Alina Maciejewska and Marianna Ulanicka-Raczyńska

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2521; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032521 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1918

Abstract

Spatial planning based on environmental justice is a key activity in the process of the provision of equal rights to live in a safe environment and possess the opportunities of using it. Irrational development of land containing historical earth surface contamination constitutes a severe threat to the health safety of residents, and it may consequently lead to slow violence. This paper’s objective is to identify districts of Warsaw where the phenomena of environmental injustice and slow violence in post-industrial areas occur and fill in the indicated knowledge gap in such issues in Poland. The aim is also to answer the question as to whether contamination of the pedosphere and changes in land use in brownfields have a considerable effect on differences related to the health safety of residents of particular districts of Warsaw. The results of analyses of correlations of soil environment risk, health safety of residents, social, and planning conditions show that, in districts with a large share of areas included in the register of historical earth surface contamination, higher-than-average soil environment risk occurs, and it is related to the transformation of brownfields. Wola is a district affected by the phenomenon of slow violence and environmental injustice. According to the research, Wola is an area of accumulation of the highest levels of soil contamination, as well as some of the least favorable indices of health safety of residents and social conditions (in the case of both, Wola takes the second position). It is also a place of dynamic, unplanned transformations of brownfields, resulting in the “discovery” of historical earth surface contamination at the stage of the investment process. As evidenced based on the example of Wola, lack of spatial planning in contaminated areas leads to the exposure of their residents to a higher soil environment risk that may result in reduced health safety and the occurrence of slow violence. Therefore, rational planning of development of land containing historical earth surface contamination, with consideration of the aspects of health safety of residents, is an instrument of provision of environmental justice in terms of access to healthy life and residential environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Exposure, Risk Assessment and Public Health)

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Review

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16 pages, 620 KiB

Open AccessReview

Sources, Indicators, and Assessment of Soil Contamination by Potentially Toxic Metals

by Xiaoping Xin, Jiali Shentu, Tiequan Zhang, Xiaoe Yang, Virupax C. Baligar and Zhenli He

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15878; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315878 - 29 Nov 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5988

Abstract

Soil pollution caused by potentially toxic metals has become a worldwide environmental issue. Geogenic processes and anthropogenic activities are two important sources of soil pollution. Soils may inherit toxic metals from parent materials; however, soil pollution mostly results from industrial and agricultural activities. Contamination by metals can be indicated by the changes in chemical, biochemical, and microbial properties of soils and plant responses. The total concentration of toxic metals in soil is still the most widely used indicator for risk assessment although extractable amounts have been reported to be more closely related to plant uptake. Several models have been proposed for assessing soil contamination by toxic metals, but none of them are commonly accepted for application to a wide range of soils. This review paper highlights how toxic metal contamination negatively affects soil and environmental quality, impacts food quality and security, and poses a threat to human health. Further research is needed to not only improve soil contamination diagnosis, modeling, and regulatory standards but also for remediation efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Exposure, Risk Assessment and Public Health)

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