Source-oriented health risks of toxic metals in fugitive dust for children and adults in a mining-industrial region of central China

Abstract

Toxic metals in fugitive dust pose health risks in mining-industrial regions, particularly for children. However, geographical resolved and source-specific assessments remain limited. This study conducted a source-oriented and geographically explicit health risk evaluation of 40 fugitive dust samples collected in Huangshi, China, using source-specific health risk assessment methods based on U.S. EPA guidelines. The results revealed that children experienced higher average potential non-carcinogenic (2.88 ± 2.21) and carcinogenic risks (1.34E-03 ± 1.07E-03) than adults. Ingestion was identified as the dominant exposure pathway, contributing over 93.4% and 96.8% to total potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks, respectively. Arsenic was the most significant contributor to the overall health risks. Mining-related activities emerged as the primary source of risk. Risk hotspots were strongly localized in industrial and mining-intensive districts, such as Daye, Tieshan, and the Huangshi urban area, whereas risks associated with natural and regional deposition sources showed more spatially uniform distributions. These findings highlight the limitations of conventional exposure assessments, which often fail to capture local risk heterogeneity, and underscore the need for targeted, source-specific intervention strategies. The study provides essential data for improving health risk models and supports the development of evidence-based policies to protect vulnerable populations.