Abstract:Concentrations of Cd in farmland soil and corresponding crop and vegetable from a typical Cd-contaminated area in southern of China were investigated. A total of 200 pairs of soil-rice samples and 142 pairs of soil-vegetable samples were collected at the county administrative district scale to analyze physiochemical properties of soil and total concentration of Cd in farm products and soils. Among the 342 soil samples, Cd concentration in soil ranges from 0.04 to 8.20 mg/kg, with mean value of 0.83 mg/kg and median of 0.54 mg/kg. In comparison to the risk screening values for soil contamination of agricultural land, standard exceeding ratios of 55% for Cd in soil is identified. Cd concentrations in rice samples varies from 0.02 to 2.61 mg/kg, with mean value of 0.37 mg/kg and median of 0.44 mg/kg, leading to approximately 54% of the rice samples exceeds the Chinese maximum permissible limit, while those in vegetables are in range of 0.01 to 1.28 mg/kg fresh weight (FW), with mean value of 0.17 mg/kg FW and median of 0.08 mg/kg FW, result in a standard exceeding ratio of 29%. Based on Cd concentrations in dietary items and amounts of consumption, it is estimated that mean dietary intake of Cd varies from 2.98 to 5.19 μg/kg BW per day, representing 3.58—6.23 times of the tolerable dietary intake of 25 μg/kg BW per month recommended by JECFA. Among the subgroups, children exhibit the highest dietary Cd intake dose of 5.19 μg/kg BW per day, which is 5.19 times the recommended tolerable intake by JECFA. Therefore, actions are urgently needed to reduce the risk of high Cd exposure for the local residents.