Health Risk Assessment of Trace Elements in Soil for People Living and Working in a Mining Area

Table 6

Allowable limits for trace element concentrations in soil (mg/kg) for different countries/organizations [8].

Country/organization	Maximum allowable limit^a
	Cr	Mn	Fe	Co	Ni	Cu	Zn	As	Cd	Hg	Pb
Tanzania	100	1.5	NI	NI	100	200	150	1	1	2	200
US EPA	11	NI	NI	270	72	NI	1100	NI	0.43	NI	200
FAO/WHO	100	NI	NI	50	50	100	300	20	3	NI	100
EU	75	140	300	NI	3	100	1	NI	3	NI	300
China	200	NI	NI	NI	50	100	250	30	0.5	0.7	80
Canada	250	NI	NI	NI	100	150	500	20	3	0.8	200
Bulgaria	65	NI	NI	20	46	34	88	10	0.4	0.03	26
UK	130	NI	NI	NI	130	NI	NI	32	10	10	450
Australia	50	NI	NI	NI	60	100	200	20	3	1	300
German	60	NI	NI.	NI	50	40	150	50	1	0.5	70
Poland	100	NI	NI	50	100	100	300	NI	3	NI	100

^aNI = not indicated.