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Cited by 1,016

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 78 of the 78 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health

Hou, Deyi, Jia, Xiyue, Wang, Liuwei, McGrath, Steve P., Zhu, Yong-Guan, Hu, Qing, Zhao, Fang-Jie, Bank, Michael S., O’Connor, David, Nriagu, Jerome·2025·Science

Abstract

Toxic metal pollution is ubiquitous in soils, yet its worldwide distribution is unknown. We analyzed a global database of soil pollution by arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead at 796,084 sampling points from 1493 regional studies and used machine learning techniques to map areas with exceedance of agricultural and human health thresholds. We reveal a previously unrecognized high-risk, metal-enriched zone in low-latitude Eurasia, which is attributed to influential climatic, topographic, and anthropogenic conditions. This feature can be regarded as a signpost for the Anthropocene era. We show that 14 to 17% of cropland is affected by toxic metal pollution globally and estimate that between 0.9 and 1.4 billion people live in regions of heightened public health and ecological risks.

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Metadata

Authors
Hou, D., Jia, X., Wang, L., McGrath, S. P., Zhu, Y.-G., Hu, Q., Zhao, F.-J., Bank, M. S., O’Connor, D., & Nriagu, J.
Venue
Science
Published
2025-04-18
Volume
388
Issue
6744
Pages
316-321
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W4409530112
Cited by
1,016
References
78
FWCI
227.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1126/science.adr5214
The paper
Hou, D., Jia, X., Wang, L., McGrath, S. P., Zhu, Y.-G., Hu, Q., Zhao, F.-J., Bank, M. S., O’Connor, D., & Nriagu, J. (2025). Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr5214

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