Health risk assessment of heavy metals exposure in soil at Rafin Gora artisanal gold mining area, Nigeria.

Authors

Lawal Zubairu, Kang Mingliang, Yang Xueqing, Khalid Raza

Published in

Environmental science and pollution research international. Sep 23, 2026. Epub Sep 23, 2026.

Abstract

The environmental impact of gold mining is a major driver of heavy metal pollution, posing health risks to nearby communities. This study quantified the concentrations and health risks of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, As, and Zn in soils from the Rafin Gora gold mining area in Katsina State, Nigeria. Thirty soil samples were analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). Contamination factor (CF), geoaccumulation index ( $I_{geo}$ ), pollution load index (PLI), and ecological risk index were calculated. Health risks were evaluated using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) models. Results showed that Cd, As, and Zn exhibited localized enrichment, whereas most other metals remained near or below background concentrations. $I_{geo}$ values classified over 90% of the samples as unpolluted. PLI values greater than 1 at most sites indicated anthropogenic influence. The ecological risk index indicated low ecological risk across all sampling locations. Ingestion was the dominant exposure pathway, with children exhibiting chronic daily intake (CDI) values 5 to 10 times higher than adults. Hazard index (HI) values were 0.026 and 0.139 for adults and children, both below unity. However, Cr and As contributed most to the hazard quotient (HQ) and intake. Total carcinogenic risk (TCR) values were $3.66\times {10}^{-6}$ and $6.79\times {10}^{-6}$ for adults and children, both below acceptable limits $(1\times {10}^{-4})$ but above negligible thresholds $(1\times {10}^{-6})$ . The study revealed that locally enriched As and Cr drive a non-negligible cancer risk, especially for children. Mitigation measures, including dust suppression, soil remediation, and bioaccessibility and speciation, are recommended to reduce exposure.

PMID:
42773348
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 23 Sep 2026.

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