Human Health Risk Assessment - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 211

direct contact with the soil, or after transfer of the contaminants to so-called contact
media (e.g., vegetables, indoor air), and subsequent exposure to these contact media
(e.g., due to consumption or inhalation). Exposure to soil contaminants can occur
by oral, inhalation and dermal routes, thus relating to the pathway within the human
body through which the contaminants enter the body (the mouth, gullet, stomach;
the nose, trachea and lungs; and the skin; respectively).
It must be taken into account that, apart from contaminated sites as sources for
contaminants, contaminant cycling is part of human life. Humans are surrounded
by and in close contact with contaminant-holding materials and matrices, on a daily
basis. In fact, the human body is loaded with contaminants (Schroijen et al. 2008 ;
WWF 2003 ). The chemical load of the human body can be considered as a chemical
footprint of past and present human contact with contaminant holding materials,
including soil, groundwater and contact media that relate to soil and groundwater.
Budd et al. ( 2004 ), for example, demonstrated on the basis of measurements in
tooth enamel of 77 individuals buried in England that humans were exposed to lead
from geological sources via their diet, at least since the Neolithic Era (about 5,000
years ago).
At the overall population level, exposure due to contaminated sites is considered
to have a limited impact on pubic health. At the local level, however, exposure to a
contaminated site can dominate the exposure to specific contaminants and thus pose
a significant risk to human health.
In urban areas, low concentrations of contaminants are often found in soils.
Manta et al. ( 2002 ), for example, found elevated concentrations of metals in of Zn,
Cu and Hg (medians of 138, 63 and 0.68 mg/kg soil, dw , respectively, in the city of
Palermo (Sicily), Italy. However, the authors also found a relatively high concentra-
tion of lead (median 2002 mg/kg soil, dw ), a phenomenon often found in urban areas.
Teaf ( 2008 ) found relatively low PAH concentration in urban areas in Florida, USA
(1-5 mg/kg soil, dw expressed in benzo(a)pyrene-equivalents). Although those con-
centrations frequently exceeded the default Florida cleanup target level for both
residential and commercial/industrial land use, it was concluded that they were
completely consistent with levels reported in a great many urban settings.
5.1.2 Public Perception
Good health is, without any doubt, both literally and figuratively, a priceless asset.
Almost every person in this world would probably put good health in the number-
one position, when asked what the most important things in life are. Since good
health is such a precious thing, not many arguments are needed to convince decision-
makers or the general public of the need for protecting human beings from the health
effects due to contaminated sites. In this regard and contrary to the protection target
'soil ecology', for example, one does not have to be a scientist to understand the sig-
nificance of the protection target 'human health'. As a consequence, human health
is widely recognised as the major protection target in the risk-based assessment
of soil quality and the management of contaminated sites in Europe (Carlon and
Swartjes 2007 ). Although the extent of health damage due to soil contamination is