Accumulation of As, Cd, and Pb in Sixteen Wheat Cultivars Grown in Contaminated Soils and Associated Health Risk Assessment.

Guanghui Guo,Mei Lei,Jun Yang,Bo Song,Yanwen Wang

doi:10.3390/ijerph15112601

Abstract

This study investigated the accumulation of As, Cd, and Pb in 16 wheat cultivars and the associated health risks for the inhabitants of Jiyuan, China. The results indicated that the concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb decreased in the order of root > leaf > stem > grain. The concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb in wheat grains varied from 0.13 for Pingan8 to 0.34 mg kg−1 for Zhengmai7698, 0.10 for Luomai26 to 0.25 mg kg−1 for Zhengmai7698, and 0.12 for Zhoumai207 to 0.42 mg kg−1 for Zhengmai379, respectively. There were significant differences in the bioaccumulation factors of As, Cd, and Pb among the 16 wheat cultivars. Cd was more readily accumulated to higher levels than As and Pb in wheat. The Target Hazard Quotients (THQs) of Cd and Pb in the grains from 16 wheat cultivars were below 1, while As THQ exceeded 1. The lowest detrimental human health effects via wheat consumption were found in cultivar AY58 among the 16 wheat cultivars, with total THQs (TTHQs) of 1.82 for children and 1.60 for adults, suggesting that children absorb more heavy metals than adults and they are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of these metals.

Highlights

Soil contamination with heavy metals has become a serious environmental problem in recent years due to the rapid economic development and increased human activities [1]
The investigation in this study showed that the significant differences of As, Cd, and Pb in wheat grains were found among the 16 wheat cultivars, suggesting it was possible to screen the wheat cultivar with a low accumulation ability
Soil pH, organic matter (OM), and Cation exchange capacity (CEC) have an influence on the concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb in wheat grains

Summary

Introduction

Soil contamination with heavy metals has become a serious environmental problem in recent years due to the rapid economic development and increased human activities [1]. Heavy metals cannot be degraded naturally and persist in soils for a long period of time [2]. It was reported that approximately one fifth of the farmland in China is contaminated with arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb), which has generated concerns on the crop productivity and food safety [3,4,5]. Pb can cause detrimental effects on humans even at very low concentrations when exposure occurs over a long time period [6]. Chronic As exposure can cause serious health effects, including skin, bladder, and lung cancer, neuropathy, gastrointestinal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and other ailments [8,9]. It is necessary to decrease the accumulation of As, Cd, and Pb in crops to ensure food safety

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion