Human health risk assessment: a case study involving heavy metal soil contamination after the flooding of the River Meuse during the winter of 1993-1994

Possible health risks related to exposure to heavy metals in river bank soils have been investigated for the River Meuse, which was flooded at the end of 1993. Soil and deposit samples and corresponding arable and fodder crops were analyzed for heavy metals. Soils of the floodplain appeared to be severely polluted by the flooding, mostly by cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn), but heavy metal concentrations in the crops grown on the soils were within background ranges. A potential health risk does exist for bank dwellers of this river which floods on the average every 2 years.