Journal Article

Health risk assessment of heavy metals via consumption of dietary vegetables using wastewater for irrigation in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Gulab, Hussain, Azizullah, Azizullah, Iqbal, Rashid, Israr, Muhammad, Ali, Fawad, Khattak, Aishma, Idrees, Muhammad, Ur Rehman, Shafiq, Hussain, Majid, Al-Zuaibr, Fahad Mohammed

2021

Overview

Health assumptions to the population due to the utilization of contaminated vegetables have been a great concern all over the world. In this study, an investigation has been conducted to ascertain metal concentrations in the wastewater, soil and commonly consumed vegetables from the vicinity of Gadoon Industrial Estate Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS) and total solids (TS) and heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Moreover, possible health risks due to the consumption of vegetables have also been estimated. pH and TSS in wastewater were found to be higher than the permissible limit set by WHO (1996). These results revealed that Cr concentration in the wastewater was above the permissible limits of United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) which may lead to a detrimental effect on soil quality deterioration, ultimately leading to food contamination. ANOVA analysis demonstrated a significant difference in soil samples for Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, Zn and Cu at p ≤ 0.001, for Mn at p ≤ 0.05 while no significant difference was observed for Fe respectively. ANOVA analysis also exhibited the highest mean value for Pb, Cr, Cd and Zn in vegetables. A substantial positive correlation was found among the soil and vegetable contamination. The transfer factor for Cr, Pb, Zn, Mn, Ni, Cd and Cu was greater than 0.5 due to contamination caused by domestic discharges and industrial effluents. Health assessment via consumption of dietary vegetables revealed a higher level than the permissible limit (HRI > 1) for Pb and Cd in children and adults. Enrichment factor (EF) due to consumption of vegetables was found higher for Pb and Cr respectively. Based on the findings of this study, there would be a significant risk to the consumers associated with consumptions of vegetables being cultivated in Gadoon Industrial Estate area of district Swabi. Therefore, strict regulatory control measures are highly recommended for the safety of vegetables originated from the study area.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Agriculture / Ali, Muhammad (1942-2016) / Atomic absorption analysis / Biology / Biology and Life Sciences / Cadmium / Chromium / Copper / Diet / Dissolved solids / Ecology and Environmental Sciences / Ecosystem biology / Electrical conductivity / Electrical resistivity / Environmental Monitoring / Environmental protection / Evaluation / Food contamination / Food Contamination - analysis / Health risk assessment / Health risks / Heavy metals / Humans / Hydrogen-Ion Concentration / Industrial effluents / Industrial wastewater / Investigations / Iron / Irrigation / Laboratories / Lead / Manganese / Medicine and Health Sciences / Metal concentrations / Metal industry wastewaters / Metals, Heavy - analysis / Nickel / Pakistan / pH effects / Physical Sciences / Physicochemical properties / Pollutants / Properties / Risk Assessment / Sediment pollution / Soil - chemistry / Soil contamination / Soil pollution / Soil quality / Soils / Solid suspensions / Spectral analysis / Spectrophotometers / Spectrophotometry, Atomic / Total dissolved solids / Total suspended solids / Transfer factor / Variance analysis / Vegetables / Vegetables - chemistry / Vegetables - metabolism / Wastewater / Wastewater - analysis / Wastewater irrigation / Zinc