TY - JOUR
T1 - Home gardening near a mining site in an arsenic-endemic region of Arizona
T2 - Assessing arsenic exposure dose and risk via ingestion of home garden vegetables, soils, and water
AU - Ramirez-Andreotta, Monica D.
AU - Brusseau, Mark L.
AU - Beamer, Paloma
AU - Maier, Raina M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program (Grant P42 ES04940 ), the USEPA Office of Research and Development , the NASA Space Grant Program , the University of Arizona TRIF Water Sustainability Program , and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation .
PY - 2013/6/1
Y1 - 2013/6/1
N2 - The human-health risk posed by gardening near a legacy mine and smelter in an arsenic-endemic region of Arizona was characterized in this study. Residential soils were used in a greenhouse study to grow common vegetables, and local residents, after training, collected soil, water, and vegetables samples from their home gardens. Concentrations of arsenic measured in water, soil, and vegetable samples were used in conjunction with reported US intake rates to calculate the daily dose, Incremental Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (IELCR), and Hazard Quotient for arsenic. Relative arsenic intake dose decreased in order: water>garden soils>homegrown vegetables, and on average, each accounted for 77, 16, and 7% of a residential gardener's daily arsenic intake dose. The IELCR ranges for vegetables, garden soils, and water were 10-8 to 10-4, 10-6 to 10-4, and 10-5 to 10-2, respectively. All vegetables (greenhouse and home garden) were grouped by scientific family, and the risk posed decreased as: Asteraceae>Fabaceae>Amaranthaceae>Liliaceae>Brassicaceae>Solanaceae>Cucurbitaceae. Correlations observed between concentrations of arsenic in vegetables and soils were used to estimate a maximum allowable level of arsenic in soil to limit the excess cancer risk to 10-6. The estimated values are 1.56mgkg-1, 5.39mgkg-1, 11.6mgkg-1 and 12.4mgkg-1 for the Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Amaranthaceae families, respectively. It is recommended that home gardeners: sample their private wells annually, test their soils prior to gardening, and, if necessary, modify their gardening behavior to reduce incidental soil ingestion. This study highlights the importance of site-specific risk assessment, and the need for species-specific planting guidelines for communities.
AB - The human-health risk posed by gardening near a legacy mine and smelter in an arsenic-endemic region of Arizona was characterized in this study. Residential soils were used in a greenhouse study to grow common vegetables, and local residents, after training, collected soil, water, and vegetables samples from their home gardens. Concentrations of arsenic measured in water, soil, and vegetable samples were used in conjunction with reported US intake rates to calculate the daily dose, Incremental Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (IELCR), and Hazard Quotient for arsenic. Relative arsenic intake dose decreased in order: water>garden soils>homegrown vegetables, and on average, each accounted for 77, 16, and 7% of a residential gardener's daily arsenic intake dose. The IELCR ranges for vegetables, garden soils, and water were 10-8 to 10-4, 10-6 to 10-4, and 10-5 to 10-2, respectively. All vegetables (greenhouse and home garden) were grouped by scientific family, and the risk posed decreased as: Asteraceae>Fabaceae>Amaranthaceae>Liliaceae>Brassicaceae>Solanaceae>Cucurbitaceae. Correlations observed between concentrations of arsenic in vegetables and soils were used to estimate a maximum allowable level of arsenic in soil to limit the excess cancer risk to 10-6. The estimated values are 1.56mgkg-1, 5.39mgkg-1, 11.6mgkg-1 and 12.4mgkg-1 for the Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Amaranthaceae families, respectively. It is recommended that home gardeners: sample their private wells annually, test their soils prior to gardening, and, if necessary, modify their gardening behavior to reduce incidental soil ingestion. This study highlights the importance of site-specific risk assessment, and the need for species-specific planting guidelines for communities.
KW - Arsenic
KW - Exposure assessment
KW - Home gardening
KW - Mining waste
KW - Risk characterization
KW - Vegetables
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84875845409&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.02.063
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.02.063
M3 - Article
C2 - 23562690
AN - SCOPUS:84875845409
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 454-455
SP - 373
EP - 382
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -