Primary soil contaminants, risks and their relationship with susceptibility to myocardial infarctions in urban Krakow (Poland)
Description
Data regard soil contamination with PAHs and Zn, Pb and Cd in different functional areas of Krakow, a second large industrial city in Poland. The functional areas such as old centrum, industrial area, residential area and reference areas differ in age, density of inhabitants and soil pollution. In the work data concerning myocardial infarction (MI) incidences in 5054 hospitalised patients who had lived in Krakow for more than 30 years were included in order to check if the soil contamination affects the frequency of MI incidences. The data regarding MI incidences were grouped according to the addresses of the patients in the studied functional areas. Iour study illustrated the diversity of soil contamination by Zn, Pb, Cd and PAHs related to the functional areas of the city. Soils from the old and densely inhabited city-centre and industrial zones were significantly more polluted than soils from the residential zone and locations outside Krakow. Some sites in the central and industrial zones that were characterised by toxicity indices, based on BaP toxicity, exceeded safe values, and the amounts of Zn, Pb and Cd in the soils of these areas showed a strong ecological risk. n areas with higher concentrations of PAHs and HMs, more frequent incidences of MI among residents were found, which strongly suggests that long-term PAH and HM exposure may be a risk factor for developing MI and CAD events. Considering the chronic exposure of residents to PAHs and HMs in the environment, this study has important implications for the health of city inhabitants, and points to a need to take action to reduce pollutant emissions.