Contamination and health risk assessment of PAHs in farmland soils of the Yinma River Basin, China

Abstract The concentration, composition, sources and incremental lifetime cancer risk of farmland soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of the Yinma River Basin were analyzed. In 2016, the total concentration of 16 PAHs ranged from 491.65 to 1007.73 ng/g in May, from 427.31 to 781.38 ng/g in August and from 580.40 to 999.40 ng/g in November, respectively. Levels of seven potentially carcinogenic PAHs generally accounted for 33–36.7% of total 16 PAHs in three seasons, and the PAHs contained two to six rings, mainly Fla, Pyr, and Chr. The correlation analysis suggested that the soil organic matter (SOM) was no correlation with PAHs except for August, and there were no significant relationship between the pH and total PAHs. Isomer ratios indicated that the soil PAHs in the farmland of the Yinma River Basin was determined to be the combustion of coal, biomass, and petroleum. The toxic equivalent (BaP eq ) concentrations ranged from 15.2 to 133 ng BaP eq g −1 in three seasons. The 95th percentiles of incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) due to human exposure to farmland soil PAHs of the Yinma River Basin was (1.36 × 10 −6 ) in May, (1.00 × 10 −6 ) in August, and (1.18 × 10 −6 ) in November for children, (1.10 × 10 −6 ) in May, (8.15 × 10 −7 ) in August, and (9.58 × 10 −7 ) in November for adolescence and (1.61 × 10 −6 ) in May, (4.22 × 10 −6 ) in August and (1.40 × 10 −6 ) in November for adulthood. The result indicated a moderate carcinogenic risk and the risk of exposure to farmland soil PAHs was pervasive for residents. This investigation might provide useful information on human exposure to PAHs in soil of the Yinma River Basin, and is valuable for policy makers and scientists.