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Toxics
Special Issues
Soil Heavy Metal Pollution and Human Health
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Soil Heavy Metal Pollution and Human Health

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Metals and Radioactive Substances".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 574

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ping Xiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Environmental Remediation and Human Health, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
Interests: indoor air pollution; human eye health; environmental pollution; food safety
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Chengchen Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Institute of Environmental Remediation and Human Health, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
Interests: heavy metals; soil pollution; oral bioavailability; bioaccessibility; environmental health; human health risk

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil is a non-renewable resource. However, industrial and agricultural activity is often detrimental to soil health and can distribute heavy metal(loid)s into the soil environment, harming human and ecosystem health. The heavy metal contamination of agricultural soil and the resultant loss of crop yield are particularly alarming, as they put the most vulnerable people on the planet at greater risk of poverty and malnutrition. Soil pollution is closely related to human health, and includes exposure to contaminated soil, the ingestion of growing crops in toxin-contaminated soils, the inhalation of contaminated soil dust, or the inadvertent ingestion of contaminated soil. After being enriched in the body, even trace heavy metal ions may lead to serious diseases, such as itai-itai disease, Minamata disease, or even cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need for greater awareness, policy interventions, and technological solutions to address the threat of heavy metal pollution in soil systems and mitigation strategies to overcome its potential impacts on human health.  

This Special Issue, entitled “Soil heavy metal pollution and human health”, aims to provide a comprehensive platform for researchers and practitioners to discuss advancements in soil heavy metal pollution, which poses serious health risks through diverse pathways. This Special Issue seeks to address the pressing global challenges associated with pollution in soil and crops, focusing on techniques and solutions that can safeguard human health and environmental sustainability. Authors are invited to submit original research papers, reviews, and short communications. The topics of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Occurrence, fate, and transport of heavy metals in soil;
  2. Bioavailability and bioaccessibility;
  3. Human health and food safety;
  4. The one-health concept to promote soil, human, and planetary health;
  5. Novel strategies for removing heavy metals from soil;
  6. Case studies and practical applications of soil heavy metal pollution management approaches;
  7. Policy implications and regulatory frameworks related to soil pollution control.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Ping Xiang
Guest Editor

Dr. Chengchen Wang
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • heavy metals
  • human health
  • food safety
  • monitoring techniques
  • pretreatment methods
  • contaminant control approaches

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 16893 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Potential Toxic Elements in Soils from Three Urban Areas Surrounding a Steel Industrial Zone
by Georgios Charvalas, Aikaterini Molla, Alexios Lolas, Elpiniki Skoufogianni, Savvas Papadopoulos, Evaggelia Chatzikirou, Christina Emmanouil and Olga Christopoulou
Toxics 2025, 13(5), 351; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13050351 - 28 Apr 2025
Viewed by 25
Abstract
The urban zone around the city of Volos, a Greek city with a historically industrialized profile, faces threats arising from Potential Toxic Element (PTE) contamination. The scope of this study is to determine the contamination levels of 10 PTEs in three urban areas [...] Read more.
The urban zone around the city of Volos, a Greek city with a historically industrialized profile, faces threats arising from Potential Toxic Element (PTE) contamination. The scope of this study is to determine the contamination levels of 10 PTEs in three urban areas which are located near the industrial zone in the city of Volos. For this purpose, a total of 30 soil samples from parks, playgrounds and roadsides were collected from the Agios Georgios, Velestino and Rizomilos areas (Magnesia, Central Greece). The sampling was conducted in June 2022 and the concentrations of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co) and zinc (Zn) were measured through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The Contamination Factor (CF), Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo) revealed moderate pollution in most cases, whereas in some sites the contamination was significant for Ni or for As. Principal Component Analysis showed concomitant changes for some PTEs in Component 1 and for others in Component 2, explaining approximately 67% of the variation. K-means Cluster Analysis showed two distinct groups of PTE-impacted sites within these urban areas. It can be postulated that industrial activities may have a carry-over effect on the soil in residential areas. Frequent monitoring of areas deemed as “contaminated” and time-series data are needed to examine in depth the soil pollution in cities and its possible shifts in relation to the changes in industrialization status in the extended urban areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution and Human Health)
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27 pages, 3486 KiB  
Article
Ecological Risk Assessment Is a Living Science: A Study on Heavy Metal(loid) Contamination in Typical Greenhouse Production Systems in Central China
by Tingting Ma, Peng Wu, Yongchuan Guo, Tian Lei, Shengbo Guo, Huajin Chang and Yongming Luo
Toxics 2025, 13(4), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13040312 - 17 Apr 2025
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Abstract
To clarify the heavy metal(loid) contamination characteristics and health risk in nine typical greenhouse production areas in Jingmen, Central China, the total concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in 176 soils and 332 vegetables were analyzed. Cadmium (100%) [...] Read more.
To clarify the heavy metal(loid) contamination characteristics and health risk in nine typical greenhouse production areas in Jingmen, Central China, the total concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in 176 soils and 332 vegetables were analyzed. Cadmium (100%) and Ni (4/44) exceeded the Chinese standard limits, while As (36/44), Cd (36/44), Cr (9/44), and Ni (1/44) exceeded the international soil quality standards. The As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb contents in all vegetables were over both the domestic and international standard limitations. The soil pollution levels of Hg and Cd and the potential ecological risk in Zhanghe and Lishi require more attention. Significant levels of Cu, Pb, and Cr in the soil and Hg, Ni, and Cu in edible vegetable parts were suggested to be mainly caused by daily agricultural production management. Although non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to vegetable consumers and greenhouse workers are acceptable across different age groups, more scientific management and remediation must be carried out simultaneously for sustainable production in the future, especially in GD and ZH. Updated standard values for the environment and food, together with the 2023 updated soil geochemical background values, should be applied in time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution and Human Health)
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