Jieyong Wang , Haonan Zhang , Yaqun Liu , Yingwen Zhang , Haitao Wang
a Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
b College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
c Capital City Environmental Construction Research Base, Beijing City University, Beijing 100083, China
d Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Abstract:
Impacted by large-scale and rapid rural industrialization in the past few decades, China's rural settlements are confronted with the risk of heavy metal pollution stemming from industrial production, which might pose a significant threat to the rural habitat and the well-beings. This study devised a relative risk model for industrial heavy metal pollution to the rural settlements based on the source-pathway-receptor risk theory. Using this model, we assessed the risk magnitudes of heavy metal pollution from industrial production at a 10 km × 10 km grid scale and identified the characteristics of the risk pattern in China. Our finding reveals: (1) the relative risk values of wastewater, waste gas and total heavy metal pollution are notably concentrated within a confined spectrum, with only a small number of units are characterized by high-risk level; (2) Approximately 21.57 % of China's rural settlements contend with heavy metal pollution, with 4.17 %, 9.84 % and 7.55 % being subjected to high, medium and low risks, respectively; (3) The high-risk units mainly is concentrated in the developed areas such as Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan area, also dispersed in the plain areas with high rural population density. Guided by these insights, this study puts forth regionally tailored prevention and control strategies, as well as distinct process prevention and control strategies.
Keywords:
Heavy metal pollution; Rural settlements; Risk pattern; China
