Health risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis of agricultural soil remediation for tailing dam failure in Jinding mining area, SW China

Abstract The impact of the tailing dams and the economic feasibility of the remediation process is significant for future risk management for tailing dams. In this research, we develop a hypothetical failure scenario for a tailing dam in the Jinding mining area, Southwest China. We assess the exposure with the Geo-Environmental Risk Assessment System, tier-1 model, and health impact with Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). Cost and benefit are also analyzed for the following cleanup process. The result shows that the exposure dose (mg/kg-BW/d) of As, Cd, and Pb right after the dam failure is 1.07×10− 2 for As; 1.76×10− 4 for Cd; and 5.68×10− 3 for Pb, respectively. The DALY caused by heavy metal exposure is 2.63×10− 2 DALY per year, which significantly exceeds the tolerable level. This indicates that the tailing dam failure will pose a high health risk to the residents, and remediation is necessary. After remediation, the DALY is 1.24×10− 8 DALY per year, indicating the cleanup process effectively reduces the resident’s health impact. From the financial point of view, the net present value of the cleanup is $-1.02×107. This indicates that the cleanup process is not economically feasible. Sensitivity analysis shows that the amount of released tailing influences the output result. The time span for benefit estimation is also an important issue. This research shows that the impact of a tailing dam failure will be severe, and remediation may be effective but economically infeasible. Therefore, preventing tailing dam failure is the most crucial task for the local government.