Heavy metal pollution of soil and chronic diseases among residents around an abandoned rare earth ore in Jiangxi

Objective To understand the distribution characteristics of soil metal pollution around an abandoned rare earth ore in Jiangxi and the health impact on the surrounding residents.

Methods According to the distribution of abandoned rare earth ore， the village was divided into mining and non-mining areas. The prevalence of chronic diseases among residents over 15 years old in the village was collected through a self-designed questionnaire. Twenty-three soil samples were collected. The contents of rare earth metals （including lanthanum， cerium， praseodymium， and neodymium） and heavy metals （including arsenic （metalloids）， cadmium， and lead） in the soil samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （ICP-MS）.

Results The metal content showed a cumulative increasing trend. One of the 23 sampling sites showed mild cadmium pollution. Compared with non-mining farmland， the metal content of farmland soil around the abandoned rare earth mine was relatively higher. The residents' top six self-reported chronic diseases were hypertension， chronic bronchitis， diabetes， stroke， hyperlipidemia， and cataract. The prevalence of hypertension in mining area was higher than non-mining area （χ²=4.141， P=0.042）. The main related factors for hypertension in residents were the increase in age （OR=14.576， 95%CI： 2.773‒76.605） and body mass index （OR=3.147， 95%CI： 1.121‒8.835）.

Conclusion Abandoned rare earth ore may have a potential impact on the health of surrounding residents.