First evaluation and ecological risk of potentially toxic elements in the formations of Akçakale cave (Gümüşhane-NE-Türkiye)

IF 3 4区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Pub Date : 2025-10-25 DOI:10.1007/s10661-025-14663-6

Çiğdem Saydam Eker, Gökhan Külekçi, Gül Uçak

{"title":"First evaluation and ecological risk of potentially toxic elements in the formations of Akçakale cave (Gümüşhane-NE-Türkiye)","authors":"Çiğdem Saydam Eker, Gökhan Külekçi, Gül Uçak","doi":"10.1007/s10661-025-14663-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, the potential toxic element levels (PTEs) and adverse health effects of Akçakale cave formations were evaluated using geochemical parameters such as enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (<i>Igeo</i>), contamination factor (CF), ecological risk factor (<span>\\({E}_{r}^{i}\\)</span>), potential ecological risk index (PERI), and non-carcinogenic hazard index (HI). Water does not pose a pollution risk, as the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in all samples are within the permissible limits for drinking water. According to the calculated geochemical parameters, all the samples were polluted with As, Co, Ni, Cu, V, and Pb. Ni, As, Cu, and Pb show very high ecological risk (PER > 320) in all samples, except Cu and Pb in T2T. The PERI values of the PTEs were more than 600 in all samples, indicating a very high potential ecological risk. The HI > 1 values for Co and As in all samples for both adults and children suggested potential non-carcinogenic health risks from exposure to these elements in the cave environment. The PTEs in the Akçakale cave formation were most likely linked to lithogenic, geogenic (Pb–Zn-Cu mineralization), and anthropogenic (agricultural activities) processes, per the findings of the data analysis using multivariate statistics (PCA and PCC). These data obtained are the first findings regarding the potential toxic element content of Akçakale cave.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"197 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10661-025-14663-6","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

In this study, the potential toxic element levels (PTEs) and adverse health effects of Akçakale cave formations were evaluated using geochemical parameters such as enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), ecological risk factor (\({E}_{r}^{i}\)), potential ecological risk index (PERI), and non-carcinogenic hazard index (HI). Water does not pose a pollution risk, as the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in all samples are within the permissible limits for drinking water. According to the calculated geochemical parameters, all the samples were polluted with As, Co, Ni, Cu, V, and Pb. Ni, As, Cu, and Pb show very high ecological risk (PER > 320) in all samples, except Cu and Pb in T2T. The PERI values of the PTEs were more than 600 in all samples, indicating a very high potential ecological risk. The HI > 1 values for Co and As in all samples for both adults and children suggested potential non-carcinogenic health risks from exposure to these elements in the cave environment. The PTEs in the Akçakale cave formation were most likely linked to lithogenic, geogenic (Pb–Zn-Cu mineralization), and anthropogenic (agricultural activities) processes, per the findings of the data analysis using multivariate statistics (PCA and PCC). These data obtained are the first findings regarding the potential toxic element content of Akçakale cave.

查看原文本刊更多论文

akakale洞（g m - ne- t rkiye）地层中潜在有毒元素的首次评价及生态风险

利用富集因子（EF）、地质积累指数（Igeo）、污染因子（CF）、生态风险因子（\({E}_{r}^{i}\)）、潜在生态风险指数（PERI）和非致癌性危害指数（HI）等地球化学参数，对akakale岩洞地层的潜在有毒元素水平（pte）和不良健康影响进行了评价。水不构成污染风险，因为所有样品中潜在有毒元素的浓度都在饮用水允许的限度内。根据计算的地球化学参数，所有样品都受到As， Co, Ni, Cu， V和Pb的污染。Ni、As、Cu和Pb在所有样品中都表现出非常高的生态风险（PER ＆gt; 320），除了T2T中的Cu和Pb。所有样本的生态风险指数均大于600，具有很高的潜在生态风险。所有成人和儿童样本中Co和As的HI ＆gt； 1值表明，在洞穴环境中暴露于这些元素可能存在非致癌性健康风险。利用多元统计（PCA）和多元统计（PCC）对数据进行分析，发现akakale洞组的pte极有可能与岩石作用、地质作用（铅锌铜成矿作用）和人为作用（农业活动）有关。这些数据是关于ak akalakale洞穴潜在有毒元素含量的首次发现。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

6.70%

发文量

1000

审稿时长

7.3 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Monitoring and Assessment emphasizes technical developments and data arising from environmental monitoring and assessment, the use of scientific principles in the design of monitoring systems at the local, regional and global scales, and the use of monitoring data in assessing the consequences of natural resource management actions and pollution risks to man and the environment.