ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Risk Assessment and Legal Countermeasures
for Heavy Metal Contamination of Land
in Rural Areas under the Green Background
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1
College of Social Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
2
School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Submission date: 2024-09-10
Final revision date: 2024-10-30
Acceptance date: 2024-12-29
Online publication date: 2025-03-05
Publication date: 2026-01-30
Corresponding author
Jianwei Guo
School of Traffic and Transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2026;35(1):1117-1131
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The study focuses on heavy metal-contaminated land in rural areas of northern China and dryland
soil. Electrochemical sensors and other related methods are used to detect heavy metal content in soil.
Based on the traditional heavy metal pollution soil evaluation model, an evaluation model considering
comprehensive pollution factors is proposed to assess the situation of heavy metal pollution in soil.
Finally, provide effective treatment suggestions based on the heavy metal pollution situation in the soil.
According to the distribution of heavy metals in the sample collection area, about 94% of the areas
belonged to Class I areas, and the soil quality met national safety quality requirements. The heavy metal
content in crops did not exceed safety standards. The main pollutants in other areas were cadmium
and nickel, with only a few areas severely polluted. Zone C and Zone D were selected as examples
for analysis, with data sourced from agricultural economic data, regional statistical yearbooks, and
environmental monitoring data from the region over the years. Four typical cadmium and nickel
pollution areas were selected for risk assessment. In evaluating soil quality standards, Zone D was the
main production area for grain crops, with densely distributed factories. The Cd content in region D
was relatively high, at 0.711 mg/kg, and the soil quality belonged to level three. However, the nickel
content in farmland in all four regions was within the first-level soil quality range (50 mg/kg), and there
was no problem with heavy metal pollution. In addition, the average wheat yield in the four regions was
calculated to be 9.249 t/hm2, which was not significantly affected. In the comprehensive evaluation of
the three indicators, the soil in the four regions was safe, but the accumulation trend of elements was
slight, indicating a certain trend of heavy metal pollution in the study area.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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