Chapters authored
Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals Pollution in Urban Environment
This chapter summarizes the results of heavy metal’s human health and ecological risk assessment of multipurpose ecogeochemical studies performed by the Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia in the young industrial cities of Yerevan and Gyumri and in an old mining region of the city of Kajaran. According to the results children non-carcinogenic risk values were greater than permissible limit of 1 indicating the possibility of an adverse health effect in the whole area of all studied cities. Among all studied elements, the riskiest were those previously identified as primary pollutants. It has also been shown that in biogeochemical provinces, where mining activities and agricultural land of rural communities are spatially juxtaposed, health risk assessment should include all possible exposure pathways. Otherwise, underestimation of possible health risk will take place. Heavy metals in soils of Yerevan and Gyumri are also an ecological risk factor and the riskiest elements having significant contribution to the overall risk and are those (Hg, Cd, and Pb) with the high level of toxicity.
Part of the book: Risk Assessment