Spatial distribution, environmental risks, and sources of potentially toxic elements in soils from a typical abandoned antimony smelting site

The rapid development of the smelting industry increases the release of antimony (Sb) into the soil environment, which threatens human health and ecosystems. A total of 87 samples were collected from an abandoned Sb smelting site to evaluate pollution characteristics and environmental risks of the potentially toxic elements (PTEs). The contents of As, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn in the fresh soils determined by P-XRF were 131, 120, 60, 145, 240, and 154 mg/kg, respectively, whilst following drying, grinding, and sieving pretreatments, the correspond-ing contents increased to 367, 179, 145, 295, 479, and 276 mg/kg, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the data obtained by P-XRF and ICP-OES in the treated sam-ples, which showed the application feasibility of P-XRF. The average contents of Sb and As were 440.6 and 411.6 mg/kg, respectively, which exceeded the control values of the devel-opment land in GB 36600-2018. The ecological risk levels of the six PTEs decreased in the following order: As > Sb > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cu. Non-carcinogenic risk revealed that As, Pb, and Sb posed health risks for children, whilst for carcinogenic risk, the risk values for As and Ni were higher than the limit values for both children and adults. Anthropogenic sources accounted for more than 70.0% of As, Pb, and Sb concentrations in soils, indicating a signif-icant influence on PTEs accumulation. The findings provide a basis for quick determination of the contamination characteristics and risk control of PTEs at Sb smelting sites. (c) 2022 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

The rapid development of the smelting industry has led to increased release of antimony into the soil environment, posing a threat to human health and ecosystems. A study on an abandoned antimony smelting site revealed the pollution characteristics and environmental risks of potentially toxic elements. The findings highlight the significant influence of anthropogenic sources on pollutant accumulation.