Quantitative Analysis and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Paddy Plants Collected from Perak, Malaysia.

Agatha Anak Sibuar,Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis,Jinap Selamat,Soo Yee Lee,Nur Syahirah Zulkafflee,Mohd Razi Ismail

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020731

Agatha Anak Sibuar, Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020731

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Abstract

Rice is one of the major crops as well as the staple food in Malaysia. However, historical mining activity has raised a concern regarding heavy metal contamination in paddy plants, especially in Perak, a state with major tin mining during the late nineteenth century. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the heavy metals (As, Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr) contamination in paddy soils and paddy plants in three districts in Perak. The content of heavy metals was determined using ICP-MS, while the absorption and transferability of heavy metals in the paddy plants were investigated through enrichment (EF) and translocation (TF) factors. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to recognize the pattern of heavy metal contaminations in different sampling areas. Health risk assessment was performed through calculation of various indices. The quantification results showed that root contained highest concentration of the studied heavy metals, with As exhibiting the highest concentration. The EF results revealed the accumulation of As, Cu, and Cr in the rice grains while PCA showed the different compositional pattern in the different sampling areas. The health risk assessment disclosed both noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks in the local adults and children. Overall, findings from this study show that heavy metal contamination poses potential health risks to the residents and control measure is required.

Highlights

Over the years, contamination of agricultural soil by heavy metals has become a critical pollution issue in developed and developing countries [1]
The concentration of heavy metals in the different parts of paddy plants collected from Kerian, Perak Tengah and Hilir Perak are presented in Tables 2–4, respectively
For the paddy plants collected from Kerian (Table 2), though there was slight difference in the results among the 3 plots, the concentration of As was the highest among the studied heavy metals in all the parts of the paddy plants, while Cd was the one with lowest concentration

Summary

Introduction

Contamination of agricultural soil by heavy metals has become a critical pollution issue in developed and developing countries [1]. The heavy metals commonly found in contaminated agricultural lands include lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), and nickel (Ni) [3]. Unlike organic contaminants, these inorganic chemical hazards are not biodegradable and able to accumulate in the soil up to hazardous level [4]. These inorganic chemical hazards are not biodegradable and able to accumulate in the soil up to hazardous level [4] These contaminants can pose risk on human health via food consumption. In view of the huge consumption of rice across the globe, rice has become a significant dietary source of heavy metals, especially in Asia, which accounts for over 90% of global rice production and consumption [5,6,7]

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