Human health risk assessment: A case study involving heavy metal soil contamination after the flooding of the river Meuse during the winter of 1993-1994

At the end of December 1993 and also at the end of January 1995, the river Meuse, one of the major rivers in Europe, flooded and river banks were inun dated. We investigated the possible health risks of exposure to heavy metal concentrations in river bank soils resulting from the flooding of the rive r Meuse at the end of 1993. Soil and deposit samples and corresponding arab le and fodder crops were collected and analyzed for heavy metals. Although the soils of the floodplain of the river Meuse appeared severely polluted m ainly by Cd and Zn, the heavy metal concentrations in the crops grown on th ese soils were within background ranges. Incidentally, the legal standard f or Cd as endorsed by the Commodities Act was exceeded in wheat crops. The m ain exposure pathways for the general population were through the consumpti on of food crops grown on the river banks and through the direct ingestion of contaminated soils. For estimating potential human exposure in relation to soil pollution, we used a multiple pathway exposure model. For estimatin g the actual risk, we determined metal contents of vegetables grown in six experimental gardens. From this study, it can be concluded that there is a potential health risk for the river bank inhabitants as a consequence of Pb and Cd contaminations of the floodplain soils of the river Meuse, which ar e frequently inundated (averaged flooding frequency once every 2 years).