Long-Term Environmental Surveillance and Health Risks of Metals and PCDD/Fs Around a Cement Plant in Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

In this study, environmental data concerning the potential impact of a cement plant were updated, 10 years after a previous monitoring study. In 2011 and 2012, samples of soil, vegetation, and air were collected in the vicinity of a cement plant located in Santa Margarida i els Monjos (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain). The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and those of a number of metals (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, Tl, V, and Zn) were determined. The results were compared with data from two previous sampling campaigns, performed in 2000 and 2001. Vanadium was the only element presenting a significant increase in the three monitors. In turn, a significant decrease of PCDD/Fs was noted in vegetation, from 0.2 to 0.1 ng WHO-TEQ/kg. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) of exposure to all pollutants was below the safety limit, while cancer risk associated with the exposure to metals and PCDD/Fs was within the range considered as assumable (10 −6 -10 −4 ). Despite the long period of time elapsed between campaigns (10 years) and the use of alternative fuels, the impact of the cement plant seems to be low, based on the emissions of the contaminants here evaluated.

Human health risk assessment in restoring safe and productive use of abandoned contaminated sites

“…Since the US EPA methodology is recommended by the Royal Decree 9/2005 for assessing risk at contaminated sites, it is very often applied in Spain (Nadal et al, 2007, Nadal et al, 2016Ordóñez et al, 2011Ordóñez et al, , 2013Peña-Fernández et al, 2014;Rovira et al, 2012Rovira et al, , 2015. There are also examples of its application in other European countries (Wcisło et al, 2002, Wcisło et al, 2005, Wcisło et al, 2012.…”

“…It should be noted that although there are many examples of the US EPA risk assessment methodology application in Spain and worldwide, they do not address segregating non-carcinogens by primary target organs or systems and deriving target organ/system-specific hazard indices (Nadal et al, 2007, Nadal et al, 2016Ordóñez et al, 2011Ordóñez et al, , 2013Peña-Fernández et al, 2014;Rovira et al, 2012Rovira et al, , 2015Xu et al, 2016).…”

“…It helps in making more justifiable decisions on the future land use pattern for the whole site or different land use patterns for different parts of the site. Other authors usually assessed risks at contaminated sites based on statistics for the whole site (Nadal et al, 2007, Nadal et al, 2016Ordóñez et al, 2011Ordóñez et al, , 2013Peña-Fernández et al, 2014;Rovira et al, 2012Rovira et al, , 2015.…”

Concrete Industry, Environment Issue, and Green Concrete: A Review

“…Particulate matter has a negative impact on air quality, leading to many human health problems [32]. In addition, particulate matter is particularly harmful to health because it can interact with hazardous substances such as Cd, As, Cr, Mn, Pb, Ni, Cu, and Zn, which are associated with human-induced activities [33]. It is worth noting that the cement sector in China is a major source of (PM) pollution, representing 30% of total industrial particulate matter emissions [34].…”

Exposure and Risk Assessment to Airborne dl-PCBs and Dioxins in the Population Living in the Neighborhood of a Cement Plant: A Pilot Study in the Valencian Region of Spain

“…Previous risk assessment studies have studied PCDD/Fs in the ambient air of populations living close to cement plants [12][13][14][15]. Nevertheless, no study has investigated the exposure to dl-PCBs in the population located close to cement plants.…”