## 3 Results and Discussion
### Health Implications of Soil Composition

Table 6: Mean concentration of heavy metals in the studied site; composition of the upper continental crust and permissible limits (in mg kg\({}^{-1}\)) as per Indian, Dutch, and Canadian soil. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**HQ Ingestion**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**HQ Dermal**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**HQ Inhalation**} \\ \cline{2-7}  & **Children** & **Adult** & **Children** & **Adult** & **Children** & **Adult** \\ \hline Cr & \(1.10\times 10^{+00}\) & \(1.18\times 10^{-01}\) & \(3.07\times 10^{-03}\) & \(4.69\times 10^{-04}\) & \(9.20\times 10^{-04}\) & \(5.19\times 10^{-04}\) \\ Ni & \(2.57\times 10^{-02}\) & \(2.75\times 10^{-03}\) & \(7.19\times 10^{-05}\) & \(1.10\times 10^{-05}\) & \(7.17\times 10^{-07}\) & \(4.04\times 10^{-07}\) \\ Cu & \(6.25\times 10^{-01}\) & \(6.70\times 10^{-02}\) & \(1.75\times 10^{-03}\) & \(2.67\times 10^{-04}\) & \(8.81\times 10^{-04}\) & \(4.97\times 10^{-04}\) \\ Mn & \(1.10\times 10^{+00}\) & \(1.18\times 10^{-01}\) & \(3.07\times 10^{-03}\) & \(4.69\times 10^{-04}\) & \(1.47\times 10^{-02}\) & \(8.30\times 10^{-03}\) \\ Zn & \(8.40\times 10^{-03}\) & \(9.00\times 10^{-04}\) & \(2.35\times 10^{-05}\) & \(3.59\times 10^{-06}\) & \(2.35\times 10^{-07}\) & \(1.32\times 10^{-07}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
\end{table} 
Table 7: Hazard quotient (HQ) values for various pathways and elements resulting from exposure to soil elements, Uttarakhand, India. The noncarcinogenic HIs for all five elements are given in Table 8. For adults, the HIs were always less than 1, whereas for children, they were higher than 1 for Cr and Mn. The HI values of these elements are mainly controlled by HQ ingestion, which are also greater than 1 for these two elements. For all elements also, HQ ingestion is always highest, while HQ inhalation is always lowest, except for Mn (Figure 3). Table 8 shows that the hazard indices (HI) of Cu, Ni, and Zn were below 1; hence, they do not pose a noncarcinogenic risk. For Cr and Mn for children, HI is observed as 1.3 and 4.2, respectively, showing a potential noncarcinogenic risk. The findings of this study were in good agreement with other studies [49]. The case percentage with HI > 1 is 5% and 11% for Cr and Mn, respectively. These findings suggest that children playing should be free from soil exposure, and also, the chance of hand-to-mouth intake should be completely avoided. Cr and Ni pose a significant carcinogenic risk as per the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) guidelines [103] in the current investigation. The cancer risk (CR) data for exposure to soil with potentially toxic elements categorized from carcinogenic to possibly carcinogenic to humans [103] indicated that the Cr and Ni cancer risk was up to the standard of carcinogenic risk of \(1\times 10^{-4}\) to \(1\times 10^{-6}\)[84] in all the locations of soil sampling. Indian Himalayan having a rich diversity of flora and fauna, and in recent decades, due to the rapid exploitation of resources, weathering and deforestation, has caused vulnerability to climate change. For the sustainable environmental management and pollution remediation in this region, it is necessary to analyze the concentration of heavy metal and physico-chemical characteristics of the soil together so that its potential risk and its key factor affecting pollution can be determined fruitfully. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Element**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Hazard Indexes**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Cancer Risks**} \\ \cline{2-5}  & **Children** & **Adult** & **Children** & **Adult** \\ \hline Cr & 0.4–1.3 & 0.0–0.1 & \(1\times 10^{-07}\) to \(4\times 10^{-07}\) & \(1\times 10^{-07}\) to \(1\times 10^{-06}\) \\ Cu & 0.0–0.1 & 0.0–0.0 & & \\ Mn & 0.2–4.2 & 0.0–0.6 & & \\ Ni & 0.0–0.1 & 0.0–0.0 & 0 to \(5\times 10^{-09}\) & 0 to \(2\times 10^{-08}\) \\ Zn & 0.0–0.0 & 0.0–0.0 & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}