Arsenic and Cadmium in Soils from a Typical Mining City in Huainan, China: Spatial Distribution, Ecological Risk Assessment and Health Risk Assessment

In order to determine the ecological risk and health risk of Arsenic (As) and Cadmium (Cd) in soils from a typical mining city in Huainan, a total of 99 soil samples were collected and analyzed. The results showed that the concentrations of As and Cd ranged from 3.2 to 39.50 and 0.01 to 0.19 mg/kg, respectively, which exceeded the soil background values by 6.06 and 14.14%, respectively. The soil pH and content of organic carbon demonstrated no significant (P > 0.05) correlation with the As and Cd concentrations, while the land use types significantly (P < 0.05) affected the As and Cd distribution. According to the Nemero synthesis pollution index, three spot areas were identified as moderately to strongly polluted. The potential ecological risk index ranged from 4.34 to 108.64, which represented that the potential ecological risk was low. In addition, children faced more carcinogenic risk of As. Consequently, mining has increased the concentrations of As and Cd in soils, and the carcinogenic risk of As to children should be paid more attention.