Chemosphere. 2017 Feb;168:1589-1596. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.11.152. Epub 2016 Dec 8.
- 1Department
of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120,
Pakistan; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of
Arizona, USA.
- 2Department of Environmental Sciences,
University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan. Electronic address:
sardar.khan2008@yahoo.com.
- 3School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Arizona, USA.
- 4National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan.
Abstract
Rapid
urbanization and industrialization result in serious contamination of
soil with toxic metals such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd), which can
lead to deleterious health impacts in the exposed population. This study
aimed to investigate Pb and Cd contamination in agricultural soils and
vegetables in five different agricultural sites in Pakistan. The metal
transfer from soil-to-plant, average daily intake of metals, and health
risk index (HRI) were also characterized. The Pb concentrations for all
soils were below the maximum allowable limits (MAL 350 mg kg-1)
set by State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA),
for soils in China, while Cd concentrations in the soils were exceeded
the MAL (61.7-73.7% and 4.39-34.3%) set by SEPA (0.6 mg kg-), and European Union, (1.5 mg kg-1) respectively. The mean Pb concentration in edible parts of vegetables ranged from 1.8 to 11 mg kg-1.
The Pb concentrations for leafy vegetables were higher than the
fruiting and pulpy vegetables. The Pb concentrations exceeded the MAL
(0.3 mg kg-1) for leafy vegetables and the 0.1 mg kg-1 MAL for fruity and rooty/tuber vegetables set by FAO/WHO-CODEX. Likewise, all vegetables except Pisum sativum (0.12 mg kg-1)
contained Cd concentrations that exceeded the MAL set by SEPA. The HRI
values for Pb and Cd were <1 for both adults and children for most of
the vegetable species except Luffa acutangula, Solanum lycopersicum,
Benincasa hispada, Momordi charantia, Aesculantus malvaceae, Cucumis
sativus, Praecitrullus fistulosus, Brassica oleracea, and Colocasia
esculanta for children. Based on these results, consumption of these Pb
and Cd contaminated vegetables poses a potential health risk to the
local consumers.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Average daily intake; Bioconcentration factor; Health risks; Lead and cadmium; Vegetable contamination
