Pollution, Risk and Transfer of Heavy Metals in Soil and Rice: A Case Study in a Typical Industrialized Region in South China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments for Authors

1) In the introduction, add all industrial activities /if any/ from the mentioned locality (Figure 1) that can produce heavy metal pollution.
2) Add to section "2. Materials and Methods" at least 1 image of the device (Agate ball mill, Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS, NexION 350D, PerkinElmer, USA) or TOC analyzer (TOC-LCPH, Shimadzu), that was used in the research or sample analysis.
3) There are many symbols and abbreviations in the article, add them to Abbreviations at the end of the article.
4) In the Conclusion of the article, briefly add the science of your research, benefits, practical application and perspectives in the continuation of the research and tests.

Author Response

We thank reviewers for their positive evaluation of our manuscript and constructive comments and suggestions!  We have carefully taken all these comments and suggestions into consideration in preparing our revision. Please see the attachment for the details.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The Authors of the manuscript presented studies on the characteristics of heavy metals contents in paddy soils, rice grains and husks based on a field survey. The Authors estimated the health risks posed by the presence of heavy metals in soils and rice for the local population. The final purpose of the work was to find the potential controlling factors for the transfer of toxic metals from soils to rice grains, and construct models for predicting the bioaccumulation behaviors of the trace elements in the soil-rice system.

 The topic undertaken by the authors is interesting. Authors presented this issue in a clear way by describing it correctly in a chapter “Materials and Methods”. They also presented and discussed those results in chapter “Results and Discussions”.

The manuscript is suitable for publication in its current form.

Author Response

We greatly appreciate the reviewer’s very positive comments on our manuscript! 

Reviewer 3 Report

 

The manuscript “Pollution, risk and transfer of heavy metals in soil and rice: A case study in a typical industrialized region in South China” is very well prepared and organized. The presented topic is of potential audience interest. The Abstract is well balanced and presents really a brief summary of the performed study. The Introduction part introduces well to the topic under discussion and highlights the current challenges in the topic under study. The method part is very well described with all required details enabling the reconstruction of the experience. The results are well presented and discussed with the current literature. The Tables and Figures are well prepared with all details and made in high quality (easy to read and understand). The conclusion is clearly described and supported by the obtained results. 

Author Response

We greatly appreciate the reviewer’s very positive comments on our manuscript!