Abstract
A study was conducted at Melka Hida and Wonji Gefersa farms where Awash River was used for cultivation of vegetable crops to assess heavy metal contamination of vegetables. To what extent these vegetables are contaminated is not known. Three leafy vegetable samples, namely, cabbage (Brassica oleracea Linn.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and spinach (Spinacea oleracea) from Melka Hida and Wonji Gefersa farms were examined for heavy metal (Cd, Cr and Pb) contamination using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results indicate that the heavy metals in vegetables of Melka Hida farm were higher than those of the vegetables in Wonji Gefersa farm. In all the samples analyzed, the concentration of Pb and Cd was more than the maximum limit and their levels varied from 0.31 to 0.65 and 0.21 to 0.40 mg/kg, respectively. However, the level of chromium was generally within the normal range in cabbage (0.85 and 0.29 mg/kg) and spinach (1.30 and 1.06 mg/kg) from Melka Hida and Wonji Gefersa farms, respectively, except in lettuce from Melka Hida farm, 2.4 mg/kg. The high levels of these heavy metals place the consumers of these vegetables grown within the study area at health risk with time unless an urgent step is taken by relevant agencies to address this issue. Key words: Awash River, contamination, trace elements, vegetables.
Highlights
Vegetables constitute an important part of the human diet since they contain carbohydrates, proteins, as well as vitamins, minerals and trace elements (Abdola and Chmtelnicka, 1990)
This study was conducted at two wastewater irrigated vegetable growing farms, that is, Melka Hida and Wonji Gefersa that are found in Adama Woreda
Awash River is the only important river in Adama Woreda used for irrigating around 1132 ha of land, which originates from the highlands of Dandi Woreda located west of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and flows along the rift valley into the Afar region, where it eventually terminates in a salty lake, Lake Abbe, found on the border with Djibout
Summary
Vegetables constitute an important part of the human diet since they contain carbohydrates, proteins, as well as vitamins, minerals and trace elements (Abdola and Chmtelnicka, 1990). In recent years, their consumption is increasing gradually, among the urban community. Benti metals in the urban environment in developing countries (Wong et al, 2003). As urban populations in developing countries increase, and residents seek better living standards, larger amounts of freshwater are diverted to domestic, commercial and industrial sectors, which generate greater volumes of wastewater (Asano et al., 2007; Qadir et al, 2007a). There is, a lack of investment capacity worldwide for construction and operation of adequate treatment facilities which threatens the quality of surface waters, soils and groundwater to which wastewater is discharged
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