Spatial distribution, environmental contamination and health risk assessment of metals in surface soils of Lesser Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, India

The present work is carried out in Lesser Himalaya of Jammu and Kashmir, with objectives to decipher the metal contamination within surface soils, and its impact on the human health and environment. One hundred fifty-six samples of surface soils were analyzed for Cu (39-292 mg kg(-1)), As (10-113 mg kg(-1)), Cr (20-136 mg kg(-1)), Pb (6-102 mg kg(-1)), Ni (10-378 mg kg(-1)), Co (0.05-183 mg kg(-1)), and Zn (7-43 mg kg(-1)). For human health risks (both adults and children), the sequence of the distinctive exposures for non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks is ingestion > dermal > inhalation. The total hazard index (THI) is below the recommended limit of 1 for adults, suggesting negligible non-carcinogenic risks (NCR's). However, for children the hazard index (HI) is more than 1, ranging from 0.18 to 1.41 for Cr and 0.07 to 28 for As, which negatively affects the children of the area. The LCR (lifetime carcinogenic risk) of Ni and Cr for adults and children and As for children is more than the bearable threshold limit, highlighting the carcinogenic risk to the population. The ecological risk index (ERI) ranges from 26.59 to 1264 with a mean value of 134.86 showing low to considerable ecological risk and spot high risk areas. The Index of Geo-accumulation (I-geo Index) of metals outlines minimal to moderate levels of contamination except for As with an I-geo value of 0.21-6.34 suggesting negligible (Class-I) to heavily contaminated (Class-V) soils. The study will serve as a baseline data, useful in undertaking the necessary steps for soil regulation to reduce soil contamination in lesser Himalayan sequences of Jammu and Kashmir, India.