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Risk Assessments of Heavy Metals to Children Following Non-dietary Exposures and Sugarcane Consumption in a Rural Area in Southern China

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Abstract

Based on the context of a rural area contaminated by mining waste in Guangxi, China, the health risks of seven heavy metals (HM) to local children were evaluated. Risk assessments of soil HMs to individuals exposed through non-dietary routes and consuming locally grown sugarcane (juice) were conducted. Results indicated that the ranking for risks of HM exposures was juice drinking > non-dietary oral intake > dermal contact > inhalation. For non-carcinogenic risks, Cr and Cd in sugarcane juice posed the most significant risks, whereas As and Pb posed the highest risks through non-dietary exposure routes. A newly established assessment model using a regression equation of hazard index of HMs to ratios of soil HM concentrations/total reference doses, showed that the non-dietary HM risk was closely correlated to the environmental HM levels and human sensitivities, which can be measured by HM total daily reference doses.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi (2013GXNSFEA053001) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi (2015GXNSFEA139001). The authors would like to thank other team members, Yan Tian, Xin Hong, Xiao-Xi Liang and Rong Su, for their hard work and dedication in finishing this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Light Industry and Food Engineering College, Guangxi University, No. 100, Daxue Road, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China

    Xiao-fei Wang, Chao-bing Deng & Juan Yin

  2. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Environmental Monitoring Centre, No. 16, Foziling Road, Nanning, 530028, Guangxi, China

    Xiao-fei Wang

  3. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Environmental Protection Bureau, No. 16, Foziling Road, Nanning, 530028, Guangxi, China

    Chao-bing Deng & Gui-ping Xu

  4. Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X1V9, Canada

    Geoffrey Sunahara

  5. Scientific Research Academy of Guangxi Environmental Protection, No. 5, Jiaoyu Road, Nanning, 530000, Guangxi, China

    Kai-xian Zhu

Authors
  1. Xiao-fei Wang
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  2. Chao-bing Deng
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  3. Geoffrey Sunahara
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  4. Juan Yin
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  5. Gui-ping Xu
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  6. Kai-xian Zhu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chao-bing Deng.

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Wang, Xf., Deng, Cb., Sunahara, G. et al. Risk Assessments of Heavy Metals to Children Following Non-dietary Exposures and Sugarcane Consumption in a Rural Area in Southern China. Expo Health 12, 1–8 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-018-0275-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-018-0275-0

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