在污染土壤中生长的食物可能是污染物的重要人类暴露途径，包括有毒元素。本研究旨在调查爱瑞卡多（厄瓜多尔最重要的金矿区之一）果园收集的农田土壤和庄稼中微量元素的污染水平。分析土壤和庄稼样品（芹菜、韭菜、玉米、香草、莴苣、萝卜、绿豆、木薯和胡萝卜）中砷（As）、镉（Cd）、铬（Cr）、铜（Cu）、镍（Ni）、铅（Pb）和锌（Zn）的浓度。此外，进行了概率人类健康风险评估，以危险系数（HQ）和癌症风险（CR）评估了当地庄稼食用的潜在风险。土壤中的As、Cr、Cu和Ni的含量超过了厄瓜多尔的农业土壤质量指南。当地农作物的微量元素含量高于联合国粮食和农业组织（FAO）制定的最大允许水平。当地庄稼食用的HQ和CR比安全暴露阈值高几个数量级，主要是莴苣、韭菜和萝卜。我们的研究结果表明，该研究区居民暴露于长期食用高微量元素的食品所导致的致癌和非致癌影响。该研究为评估矿区中迹象污染的农业土壤和庄稼的质量，确保消费者食品安全的需求提供了启示。©2023，作者（们）。

Consumption of food grown in contaminated soils may be a significant human exposure pathway to pollutants, including toxic elements. This study aimed to investigate the pollution level of trace elements in farmland soil and crops collected in orchards from Ponce Enriquez, one of the Ecuador's most important gold mining areas. The concentration of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chrome (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) was analyzed in soil and crop samples (celery, chives, corn, herbs, lettuce, turnips, green beans, cassava, and carrots). In addition, a probabilistic human health risk assessment, in terms of hazard quotients (HQ) and cancer risk (CR), was conducted to assess the potential risk related to local crop ingestion. The contents of As, Cr, Cu, and Ni in soils exceeded the Ecuadorian quality guidelines for agricultural soils. The trace elements concentration in local crops was higher than the maximum permissible levels set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The HQ and CR of local crop ingestion were several orders higher than the safe exposure threshold, mainly for lettuce, chives, and turnips. Our results revealed that inhabitants of the study area are exposed to developing carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects due to long-term food consumption with high trace elements. This study sheds light on the need to assess further the quality of agricultural soils and crops grown in mining areas with signs of contamination to guarantee consumer food safety.© 2023. The Author(s).