Source Identification and Risk Assessment of PAC Contamination in Typical Coal Mining Soils of Huaibei, China: Application of PMF and APCS-MLR Receptor Models

Owing to its abundant coal reserves, Huaibei serves as a critical energy supply base in East China. However, coal exploitation and utilization have led to severe environmental challenges. To improve pollution source control and advance soil contamination remediation in mining areas, we investigated the pollution characteristics, source apportionment, and health risks of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in soils around the Liuqiao coal mining area in Huaibei. The total PAC concentration (ΣPACs) ranged from 142.0–11,422.3 ng/g (mean: 1,442.4 ng/g), with alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (aPAHs) being the dominant contributors (49.4%). Seven highly carcinogenic PAH monomers accounted for 40.4% of the Σ16PAHs, indicating significant potential health risks. Integrated analysis using the Diagnostic Ratio Method, positive matrix factorization (PMF), and absolute principal component score–multivariate linear regression (APCS–MLR) identified coal and biomass combustion as the primary PAC sources. Deterministic human health risk assessment models and Monte Carlo simulations revealed total carcinogenic risks for adults and children exceeding the United States Environmental Protection Agency safety threshold (1 × 10⁻⁶). The contributions of pollution sources were further quantified using source risk modeling. Despite slight discrepancies between PMF and APCS–MLR results, coal and biomass combustion were identified as the predominant risk drivers. This study provides valuable insights into PAC source tracing and health risk assessments in mining areas. By establishing an integrated source apportionment framework, the reliability of source identification was enhanced compared with that using traditional single-model approaches, which supports pollution control and management in coal mining regions.