Environmental pollution by persistent toxic substances and health risk in an industrial area of China

Soil is an important environmental medium that is closely associated with humans and their health. Despite this, very few studies have measured toxicants in soils, and associated them with health risks in humans. An assessment of health effects from exposure to contaminants in soils surrounding industrial areas of chemical production and storage is important. This article aims at determining pollution characteristics of persistent toxic substances (PTS) in an industrial area in China to unravel the relationship between soil pollution by PTS and human health. One hundred and five soil samples were collected and 742 questionnaires were handed out to residents living in and around an industrial area around Bohai Bay, Tianjin in Northern China. Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in soil. Mann-Whitney U and binary multivariate non-conditional logistic regression models were employed to analyze the relationship between health indicators of local residents and contaminant levels. Odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) for health incidences were also calculated. The average concentrations of DDT (73.9 ng/g), HCH (654 ng/g) and PAHs (1225 ng/g) were relatively high in the industrial area. Residents living in the chemical industry parks were exposed to a higher levels of PTS than those living outside the chemical industry parks. This exposure was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer (OR 1.87, 95% CI 0.12–30.06), stomach cancer (OR 1.87, 95% CI 0.26–13.41), dermatitis (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.05–2.80), gastroenteritis (OR 1.59, 95% CI 0.94–2.68), and pneumonia (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.58–1.89).