Human health risk-based soil environmental criteria (SEC) for park soil in Beijing, China

Urban parks are important places that allow urban residents to experience nature but are also associated with the risk of exposure to contaminated soil. Therefore, it is necessary to establish appropriate soil environment criteria (SEC) to manage park soil quality. Studies on the demographic characteristics and behavioral patterns of urban park visitors are helpful for the selection of sensitive receptors and the determination of parameters in the establishment of SEC. This study explored the park visitors' demographic characteristics and behavioral patterns, and applied the results to derive SEC. Eighty-six parks in Beijing were selected, and mobile phone data were obtained to analysis the demographic characteristics and residence time of the visitors. Kruskal-Wallis test, kernel density estimation and random forest model were used for data analysis. The CLEA model was used to derive SEC. The results showed that the demographic characteristics and behavioral patterns of visitors in different types of parks were quite different. Parks were mostly used by males and visitors aged 31-45. Most visitors stayed in the park for 1-2 h, and the distance from a given visitor's home to the park was the most important factor affecting stay time. Then, several parameters such as the parameters related to the receptors and occupation period were optimized, and the SEC of sensitive parks and non-sensitive parks were derived. Exposure frequency may be the main reason for the difference of SEC between the two types of parks. The SECs of sensitive parks were higher than the soil screening values (SSVs) for class 1 land in GB36600-2018, indicating that the current SSVs for some parks may be too conservative. This study provides a reference for the formulation and revision of soil environmental standards for park land, and suggests strengthening research on human behavioral patterns.

Automated summary

Urban parks are important for urban residents to experience nature, but contamination of soil poses risks. This study explored the demographic characteristics and behavioral patterns of park visitors and used the findings to establish appropriate soil environment criteria. The results showed differences in visitors' characteristics and behaviors among different types of parks. The derived criteria were higher than existing soil screening values for some parks, indicating the need for revised standards.