IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2022) 13-1

Research article
erd

Effects of Lead and Other Metals from Historical Smelting
on Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Cultivation
BARRY NOLLER*The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
Email: b.noller@uq.edu.au

FIONA HENDERSONThe University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
Received 31 January 2022

Accepted 25 April 2022(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Wollongong, located in the Illawarra region of NSW Australia, contains theindustrial complex of Port Kembla. Lead in Port Kembla soils, ~2.5 km from a former
copper smelter (1908-2003), have exceeded soil contamination guidelines for human health(HIL) and ecological (EIL) investigation levels. Previous studies regarding heavy metal
contamination from the industrial complex, do not include comparisons to HIL and EIL
guidelines. This study re-examines the risk of legacy (historic) heavy metals in urban soils
to residents in proximity to the Port Kembla industrial complex. This was accomplished byreviewing: (i) resolution of heavy metal dispersion data from the copper smelter, in historicsoil concentration data (n=95 top soil samples) collected by Jafari (2009) and reviewed byNoller (2020a); (ii) providing a new comparison of historic percentile data to current
Australian soil contamination guidelines (NEPC, 2013) and German atmospheric pollutant
guidelines; and (iii) re-evaluating treatments to soil data by Jafari (2009), in the context ofbioaccessibility and bioavailability to humans and plants. At 75th percentile, arsenic,cadmium, copper, lead and zinc concentrations exceeded HIL Level A guidelines. Whendetection limit values (52 out of 95) were removed (n=22 samples), median cadmium
concentrations exceeded HIL Level A guidelines. Dietary exposure to cadmium, lead, zincand copper is a risk to residents through the consumption of vegetables grown in urban
gardens in proximity to the Port Kembla industrial complex. Copper in vegetables sampledfrom soils in the vicinity of the Port Kembla copper smelter was greater in comparison tosampling completed at other smelter sites. Port Kembla urban garden vegetables showed
exceedance of food guidelines for both cadmium and lead, highlighting the health risks ofgrowing vegetables in proximity to industrial areas.
Keywords heavy metals, arsenic, smelting, sustainable, fruit and vegetable cultivation

INTRODUCTION
The Wollongong local government area (LAG) is located in the Illawarra region of New South
Wales (NSW), Australia (Fig. 1), 80 km south of Sydney. The Wollongong LAG contains theindustrial complex at Port Kembla; a feature which has remained in place for over 100 years(Chiaradia et al., 1997; Jafari, 2009). A copper smelter, formerly Southern Copper ERS Ltd (SC inFig. 1), commenced operations at Port Kembla (1908-2003) and demolished in 2014. A
considerable body of literature exists on the nature, extent and distribution of heavy metals andarsenic in soils in Wollongong and Port Kembla (Noller, 2020a). The current Australian guidelines
for human health (HIL) and ecological (EIL) investigative levels are risk-based approaches used to
examine and interpret soil, air, water and food environmental data. Existing guidelines (HIL andEIL) had yet to be implemented at the time of previous data collection and analysis (Noller, 2020a).
Previously, lead (Pb) was mainly investigated at Port Kembla, yet cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper(Cu), and arsenic (As) also exceeded Australian National soil contamination guidelines (HIL andEIL) (NEPC, 2013; Noller, 2020b). In the absence of Australian air pollutant guidelines, GermanⒸ ISERD105

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air pollutant controls (TA LUFT standards) for metal fallout were used (TA LUFT, 1990, 1999;
Noller, 2020b).

Fig. 1 Location of the historical Port Kembla industrial complex, including the southerncopper smelter (SC) and other sampling sites (Chiaradia et al., 1997)
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study are to re-examine and evaluate the human-health risks to residents inthe proximity to the Port Kembla industrial complex, based on historic heavy metal and As
concentrations in soil.
METHODOLOGYThis study aims to follow three methods of re-examination and analysis: (i) to review the resolutionof heavy metal and As dispersion data from the copper smelter, in historic soil concentration data (n=95
top soil samples) collected by Jafari (2009) and reviewed by Noller (2020a); (ii) to provide a newcomparison of historic percentile data to current Australian soil contamination guidelines (NEPC, 2013)
and TA LUFT (1990, 1999) German atmospheric fallout standards; and (iii) to re-evaluate treatments tosoil data by Jafari (2009), in the context of bioaccessibility and bioavailability to humans and plants.
The Jafari (2009) study measured the total concentration of 37 elements in soil samples (n=95) by
XRF-spectrometry. Soil samples were treated with 0.1M hydrochloric acid extraction andethylenediamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA). Data from Jafari (2009) was not previously evaluatedfor human health or ecological risks, however extraction methods in Jafari (2009) are an analog toreflect human bioaccessibility of metals and As in soils (HCl acid extract similar to stomach acid) andindicate plant uptake (EDTA extract). The detection limit for Cd was 10-20 mg/kg (Jafari, 2009)
resulting in only high values of Cd being compared with guidelines (Noller, 2020a). This study reexamines data from Jafari (2009) and Noller (2020a) and compares percentile values of As, Cd, Cu,eⒸ ISERD106

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Pb and Zn against soil guidelines (NEPC, 2013), to inform a risk assessment of potential resident
exposure from historic smelter emissions.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Summary results are given in percentile values in Table 1 for metals and As in soil (mg/kg), andTable 2 for mean percent extractable metals and arsenic in soil at Port Kembla.
Table 1 Percentile values for metals and arsenic in soil (mg/kg) at Port Kembla
Maximum

HILa
Level A

EILb
Urbanresidential535

1999

1000

30-2302204322833

7000

25-1300

14 ±24712183

100

50-1005289 ±189

293984020-3178 ±479

64126667300

270-1100

Metal/
metalloid(n=95)

No.<Values

Mean (SD)

Copper0Zinc

Median75thpercentile556±1246

161

2373 ±417

Arsenic

1Cadmium
LeadSource a. HIL Level A is for urban residential with garden (Noller,2020b); and b. EIL Urban-residential includes
public open spaces for both invertebrate and plant species protection level of 80% (approximated using 75% data) withupper and lower levels combining added contaminant limit with background concentration. The EIL for Cd is notavailable. Site specific measurements can be undertaken to derive a Cd EIL (NEPC, 2013; Noller, 2020b), but not forthis study.

Examination of percentile values (Table 1) shows that concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb andZn exceeding HIL Level A investigation levels for residential soils are all greater than 75thpercentile values. When the detection limit values of Cd (52 out of 95) were removed, 22 soil
concentrations exceeded HIL Level A at their median (50th percentile) value.
Jafari (2009) noted a positive correlation between Cu (P < 0.001), As (P < 0.001), Pb (P <0.001) and Zn (P < 0.01) concentrations and distance from the smelter stack. Concentrations in soil
in proximity (< 1.5 km) to the smelter stack contained higher amounts of total Cu (>1500 mg/kg)
and As (> 10-15mg/kg), Pb (> 150-200mg/kg) and Zn (> 400-600mg/kg) (Jafari, 2009). Highest
concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were attributed to samples from slag heaps (Jafari, 2009).
Contamination of heavy metals and As in soils surrounding the Port Kembla smelter, range at a
distance of 1-4km, but higher concentrations are observed <1km from the smelter stack.
Percentile values depicted in Table 1, shows that except for Cu, 75th percentile values formetals and As do not exceed EIL standards. Readers should note that there is no current EIL
guideline for Cd. Some effects on terrestrial species in garden soil from Cu may be expected as theEIL urban-residential guideline is exceeded for concentrations greater than median (Table 1).
Single extraction technique data used to determine 0.1M Hydrochloric acid and 0.05M EDTA
concentrations of elements (Table 2) show that Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations decreased withincreasing distance from the stack (Noller, 2020a). The heavy metal and As extraction techniqueof 0.1M hydrochloric acid, can be utilized as a gastro-intestinal simulation, to predict humanbioavailability (Table 2). More accurately, 0.1M hydrochloric acid extractable metals and arsenic
provides an indication of their bioavailability during the gastric phase (Table 2); however, thismethod likely overestimates their bioaccessibility, as the intestinal phase (functions at ~ pH 7conditions) is not considered (Noller, et al. 2017). It is important to distinguish that the humanintestine is where heavy metal and As absorption takes place, while the stomach (gastric phase) is
where solubilization of food (heavy metals and As) occurs. The 0.05M EDTA extractableconcentrations of heavy metal and As represent the relevant concentrations of plant uptake fromsoil (Table 2).

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Table 2 Mean percent extractable metals and arsenic in soil at Port Kembla
Extractant

Arsenic (%)

Copper (%)

Lead (%)

Zinc (%)

Cadmium (%)

0.1M HCl

35.7

2228434.270.05M EDTA

42.93237334.5

The mean 0.1M hydrochloric acid extractable Pb concentration (Table 2) of 28.0% in
Wollongong soil indicates that bioaccessibility is low (compared with < 100%). Thisbioaccessibility (BAc) level is similar to soil at other mining centres in Australia (Noller et al.,2017). The HIL Level A 300 mg/kg for Pb and 0.1M hydrochloric acid extractable Pb is equivalent
to a site-specific level of 1,071 mg/kg (BAc-adjusted site-specific concentration = HIL A (300mg/kg) / 0.28), i.e., by assuming that the bioaccessibility is conservatively 28.0%. The HIL Level
A 100 mg/kg for As and 0.1M hydrochloric acid extractable As is equivalent to a site specific levelof 280 mg/kg (BAc-adjusted site specific concentration = HIL A 100 mg/kg/ 0.36); The HIL Level
A 6000 mg/kg for Cu and 0.1M hydrochloric acid extractable Cu is equivalent to a site specificlevel of 27,300 mg/kg (BAc-adjusted site specific concentration = HIL A 6000 mg/kg/ 0.22), i.e.
assuming BAc is 22.0%. If ‘bioaccessibility-adjusted’ concentration is utilized, no exceedances ofHIL A from metals and As in soil occurs. The HIL Level A 20 mg/kg for Cd and 0.1M
hydrochloric acid extractable Cd is equivalent to a site-specific level of 468 mg/kg(bioaccessibility-adjusted), assuming bioaccessibility is 4.27%. This shows ‘BAc-adjusted’concentrations (n=22) do not exceed HIL A for Cd.
Table 3 summarizes and compares historical Pb and Cd (µg/m2.day) fall-out data at Port
Kembla and other Wollongong sites, with fallout data from the electrolytic refinery site at Hobart,
Tasmania (located 1600 km south of Sydney, NSW; Fig. 1). Converting the measured fall-out inunits of μg/cm2.year to μg/m2.day (Table 3) enabled a comparison of historical data for Pb and Cd
with current German dust metal and metalloid deposition guidelines (TA LUFT, 1990 and1991). A
retrospective evaluation of fallout data compared to German guidelines informs on the significanceof historical Pb and Cd deposition in soil. Data in Table 3 shows: (i) Lead at sites near Port Kemblasmelters exceed TA LUFT ‘protection of human health and crop land integrity’ and ‘Grassland
integrity’ (May 1981) for fallout monitoring during the 1970s - 1980s; and (ii) Cadmium, at all sites
at Port Kembla, exceed TA LUFT ‘Protection of human health’ guideline by 47 times at a value of94μg/m2.day except when <5.5μg/m2.day. Contour diagrams of dust fall-out in Archibold and Crisp(1983) showed that Pb deposition extended across the north central part of the Wollongong study
area in September 1980, with peak fallout occurring at the smelter, which subsequently decreasedin April 1981. Table 3 shows the residents at this time could have been exposed (ingestion) toelevated Cd and Pb from fall-out.
Cd and Pb uptake from atmospheric fall-out, could have occurred in vegetable gardens, 1-2
km from smelter locations. Although current emission of Pb is not an issue in Wollongong forhuman health exposure from inhalation, it is possible that remobilization of Pb or Cd from surface
soil is an ingestion issue today, particularly for children. The historical record of Cd and Pb fallout
from the Port Kembla copper smelter and steelworks indicates the extent of dispersion of Cd andPb was real and likely resulted in direct exposure to residents or due to ingestion of garden
vegetables.
For ecological conditions soil organisms can be affected. Comparison of fallout levels of Cdand Pb in Hobart suburbs from the electrolytic zinc refinery (Table 3) show emissions were lower
than for Port Kembla, but similar to Wollongong suburbs. Dietary exposure to Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, andAs is a risk to human health through consumption of vegetables, especially in urban-residentialareas. The extent of Cu uptake in vegetables sampled from soils in the vicinity of the smelter atPort Kembla was greater than at other smelter sites (Kachenko and Singh, 2006). Both Cd and Pb
in vegetables at Port Kembla exceeded Australian Food Standards maximum level (ML both 0.1
mg/kg fresh weight for Cd and Pb; (FSANZ 2016; Kachenko and Singh, 2006). This highlights theimportance of historical investigations and retrospective evaluations. This study reveals the risk ofheavy metal persistence in urban-residential soils near historic smelter operations. Local residentsⒸ ISERD108

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may be at risk from growing vegetables in soils not completely rehabilitated following
decommissioning of smelters.
Table 3 Summary of historical air fallout data for lead and cadmium at Port Kembla andWollongong, NSW and Hobart, Tasmania
Cadmium Mean±se(µg/m2.day)

Lead Mean±se(µg/m2.day)

Reference

Wollongong suburbs
Wollongong suburbs (2)<5.5

71.2 ±27.4

Beavington (1977)

September 1980 (13)-185 ±36.8

Crisp et al., (1984)

October 1980 (4)-725 ±323

Crisp et al., (1984)

November 1980 (9)Port Kembla
Port Kembla smelter/ works (5)-183 ±44

Crisp et al., (1984)

26.3 ±9.7

568 ±230

Beavington (1977)

September 1980(1)-1040

Crisp et al., (1984)

October 1980(1)-4870

May 1981(7)94 ±3.03760 ±109

Crisp et al., (1984)
Archibold and Crisp(1983)

Rural site
56km from SC smelter (1)Hobart suburbs<5.524.7

Hobart suburbs (11)1.70 ±0.60

40 ±14

Electrolytic zinc refinery site (7)6.0 ±5.0

173 ±100

Site (n)Dust Deposition Guidelines
Cadmiuma
LeadaBeavington (1977)
Ayling and Bloom(1976)
Ayling and Bloom(1976)

2

Protection of human healthb
Protection of crop land
integrityc
Protection of grassland
integrityc

100

TA LUFT (1990, 1999)

185
1900

Source a. Averaging Period 1 year; b .TA LUFT (1990); and c. TA LUFT (1999).

CONCLUSION
The total concentrations of heavy metals and As in 95 surface soil samples collected in 2009 as
percentile values provided better resolution of dispersion distance from the copper smelter at PortKembla. The comprehensive treatment of existing data by comparing historical data against current
guidelines was not previously possible until this study. Historical fallout data compared against
current heavy metal fall-out guidelines predicts past smelter emissions build-up in soil suggesting
potential risks to residents ingesting vegetables grown from contaminated urban soils.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The NSW EPA, Sydney NSW, Australia funded the literature review of lead and other heavy
metals in soil and roof dust in Wollongong and measures to manage any associated health risks.

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