J Korean Soc Environ Eng. 2015; 37(11): 619-630.
Published online 2015 November 30.
Comparative Study on the Human Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination between Two Abandoned Metal Mines in Korea
1Department of Geology and Research Institute of Natural Science (RINS), Gyeongsang National University (GNU)
2Institute of Mine Reclamation Technology, Mine Reclamation Corporation (MIRECO)
Received 2015 November 03; Accepted 2015 November 30.
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to propose the methodology of human risk assessment specialized to domestic mine areas and to quantify the human risk of heavy metal (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) contamination around two abandoned metal mines. To attain the goals, we established a relevant exposure scenario, including 7 exposure pathways and extracted a variety of exposure factors reflecting the characteristics of inhabitants around abandoned metal mine areas. Finally, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were compared between two areas, exposure pathways, heavy metal contaminants, and receptors. The total excess carcinogenic risks of two mine areas of concern were calculated to be larger than the acceptable carcinogenic risk (1×10-6), indicating those two areas are not safe for carcinogenic hazard. In addition, the hazard indices of two areas were computed to be higher than unit risk (1), suggesting that the areas of concern have non-carcinogenic risk. Ingestion of crop and intake of groundwater were evaluated to be main exposure pathways contributing to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks within the areas. Also, the results show that carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic hazards were mostly attributed to As and As, Cd, and Pb, respectively.
Keywords :
Human Risk Assessment, Abandoned Metal Mines, Heavy Metal Contamination, Carcinogenic Risk, Non-carcinogenic Risk
