Health Risk Index Values Research Articles

Health Risk Assessment of Different Heavy Metals Dissolved in Drinking Water.

Water pollution is a major threat to public health worldwide. The health risks of ingesting trace elements in drinking water were assessed in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Eight trace elements were measured in drinking water, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), and compared with permissible limits established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak EPA). In addition, health risk indicators such as the chronic daily intake (CDI) and the health risk index (HRI) were calculated. Our results showed that the concentrations of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and manganese (Mn) were 2593, 1306, and 695 ng/g, respectively, in Lahore and Jhang, while the concentrations of arsenic (As) in Lahore, Vehari, Multan, and Jhang were 51, 50.4, 24, and 22 ng/g, respectively, which were higher than the permissible limits suggested by the WHO. The values of CDI were found to be in the order of Cr > Ni > Mn > Cu > As > Pb > Co > Cd. Similarly, the health risk index (HRI) values exceeded the safe limits (>1) in many cities (eg, Cr and Ni in Lahore and As in Vehari, Jhang, Lahore, and Multan). The aforementioned analysis shows that consumption of trace element-contaminated water poses an emerging health danger to the populations of these localities. Furthermore, inter-metal correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that both anthropogenic and geologic activities were primary sources of drinking water contamination in the investigated areas.

Health risk assessment through determining bioaccumulation of iron in forages grown in soil irrigated with city effluent.

The irrigation with sewage water can be useful if it has no negative effects on food crop yield, soil pollution, and health of humans. However, it includes various types of contaminants like heavy metals that pollute the soil and crops. In this regard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the possible health risks of heavy metals in forages. Forages both of summer and winter were grown with different water treatments (sewage water and tap water) in Department of Botany, University of Sargodha. The concentration of iron (Fe) in water, soil, and plant samples was determined. The Fe values in tap and sewage water were observed as 0.090 and 0.115mg/L, respectively. The highest mean concentration of Fe was 9.608mg/kg in the soil where Trifolium alexandrinum is grown, and the lowest mean concentration was 0.154mg/kg which occurred in the soil where Trifolium resupinatum is grown in winter. The maximum mean concentration of Fe in the root samples of plants was observed as 2.483mg/kg in Pennisetum typhoideum, and the minimum mean concentration occurred as 0.390mg/kg in Zea mays grown in summer. The maximum bioconcentration factor value of Fe was observed for T. resupinatum (5.259) grown in winter. The maximum pollution load index value of Fe was observed for T. alexandrinum (0.1688). The maximum value of daily intake of metals was observed as 0.0731 in Medicago sativa, and the maximum health risk index value was determined as 0.1091 in P. typhoideum.

Appraisal of chromium and cobalt contents of vegetables grown in soil irrigated with sewage water: A risk for consumers’ health

Abstract The aim of the present research was to determine the concentrations of chromium (Cr) and cobalt (Co) in soil, vegetables grown at the areas which are usually irrigated with canal water (CW) and sewage water (SW). The samples were analysed through Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The mean concentrations of Cr and Co in soil samples varied from 0.9 to 1.80 mg/kg and 0.575 to 1.10 mg/kg, respectively. The highest value of Cr was observed in Solanum lycopersicum irrigated with SWI and the lowest in Brassica rapa irrigated with CW. While in case of cobalt, the highest value was found in Solanum lycopersicum irrigated with SW and the lowest was noticed in Capsicum baccatum irrigated with CW. In all vegetables, the daily intake of metal values for Cr and Co were higher in SWI as compared to the CWI. Bio-concentration factor values of heavy metals were less than 1 in all vegetables for Cr and Co, and these results specified that metal bioavailability was low at CWI and SWI. Health Risk Index values of Cr and Co were less than one. The findings suggested that the locals were safe while consuming these vegetables but consistent use of waste water may increase the risk of contaminants as they may reach the toxic levels. Keywords: Chromium; Cobalt; Wastewater; Vegetables http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2019.80010

Phytoextraction of Heavy Metals and Risk Associated with Vegetables Grown from Soil Irrigated with Refinery Wastewater

With increase in anthropogenic activities, Heavy metal pollution contamination of vegetables is inevitable as such become a course for concern due to food safety issues and potential health risk. This is aimed at evaluating the phytoextraction efficiency of some vegetables and potential health resulting from the consumption of vegetables that grown in agricultural soil irrigated with Refinery wastewater. Wastewater was collected from effluent point of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company from October, 2016 to February, 2018. The wastewater was analyzed for the presence of heavy (Cd+2, Hg+2, Ag+2 and Pb+2, Cr+3) before use for irrigation. Soil samples were collected from a farm located in Rigasa, Igabi Local Governsment of Kaduna State. The soil samples were digested and analyse for heavy metal (Cd+2, Hg+2, Ag+2 and Pb+2, Cr+3) and physico-chemical parameter before and after the wastewater is used for irrigation and treatment process. The seeds of the vegetables were sow in the botanical garden of Biological Sciences Department of Kaduna State University. The sow seeds were constantly irrigated by a refinery wastewater for throughout the period of the research. After germination the plants were harvester and separated into root/rhiziome and shoot, the root/rhiziome and shoot are digested and heavy metals analysis is done using AAS. Bioconcentration factor, Biotranslocation factor, Daily intake of metal (DIM) and Health risk index (HRI) were calculated. The result obtained show The accumulation trend in the vegetable for Cd and Hg is Solanum melongena, Cucumis sativa, Phasaelus vulgaris, Spinacia Oleracea, Allium cepa, Lactuca sativa, Daucas carota, Lycopersican esculentum, Pipper nigrum. The result obtained also show high DIM and HRI value by all the vegetables that are above FAO/WHO recommended limit for the heavy metals. These researches thereby discourage the use of refinery wastewater in irrigation farming of vegetables. It also recommends the need to stop all vegetable farming activities within the bark of Romi stream since refinery wastewater is constantly been released into the stream.

Nutritional status and risks of potentially toxic elements in some paddy soils and rice tissues

This experiment was conducted to investigate the potential risk of toxic elements in paddy soils and rice straws, bran, and husked grains in Kuchesfahan, Gilan, Iran. The average content of total and DTPA-extractable of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were 7.0, 26.3, 20728.8, 1516.7, 43.8, 16.6, and 211.8 mg kg−1, and 0.32, 14.1, 97.3, 63.4, 1.7, 4.8, and 56.2 mg kg−1, respectively. In addition, the average content of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in rice grain was 0.16, 2.4, 135.5, 34.1, 2.0, 0.6, and 15.0 mg kg−1, respectively. The average transfer factor for Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn from soil to straw was 0.38, 0.16, 0.004, 0.13, 0.3, 0.04, and 0.09, respectively. The average values of estimated daily intake for Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn through rice consumption for adult are respectively, estimated to be 0.0004, 0.005, 0.32, 0.08, 0.005, 0.0015, and 0.035 mg kg−1 body weight per day. There was no health risk index (HRI) values for adult greater than 1 (except three samples for Fe, and one sample for Mn and Cd); indicated that intake of single metal through the consumption of rice was safe. The average of heath index (HI) value for rice consumption was 0.33 and 0.35 for adult and children, respectively. Therefore, combination of several potentially toxic elements may not cause risk to local residents. Spatial distributions of HRI were obtained for potentially toxic metals in husked grains.

Heavy metal phyto-accumulation in leafy vegetables irrigated with municipal wastewater and human health risk repercussions

In this study, heavy metal phyto-accumulation potential of selected cultivars of two leafy vegetables on irrigation with municipal wastewater and human health risks were investigated. Municipal wastewater chemistry was recorded significantly different from groundwater control and led to the two-fold high enrichment of soil heavy metal contents (Ni, 19.46; Pb, 23.94; Co, 4.68; Cd, 1.4 in mg/kg, respectively). Interactive effects for phyto-accumulation of most heavy metals were also recorded significant at p < 0.001 in four vegetable cultivars. Heatmap revealed higher accumulation of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Co) in spinach cultivars than lettuce cultivars creating elevated health risk index (HRI) and hazard index (HI) values for adults and children. Highest HI was recorded for Lahori palak (adults, 1.42; children, 2.58) and lowest for iceberg (adults, 0.04; children, 0.07). The NPK supplementation improved mineral composition of leafy vegetables within safer human health limits in control treatments. However, in municipal wastewater treatments, NPK fertilization decreased heavy metal uptake and phyto-accumulation in S2 (Lahori palak) than remaining vegetable cultivars leading to reduced health risk values. Because of higher heavy metal phyto-accumulation and health risks, cultivation of spinach cultivars must be discouraged in agro-ecologies receiving municipal wastes, whereas lettuce cultivars should be promoted.

Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals and Microbial Quality of Local Tomato (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Solanum lycopersicum&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;) of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Tomato fruit enormously consumed in Burkina Faso is a source of health risk due to its quality. The plant of tomato cultivated in most the industrially polluted area as Ouagadougou, accumulates significant quantities of heavy metals and microorganisms and could be dangerous for consumption. The present study was conducted to investigate heavy metal and microbial contamination in soils wastewater and vegetables (tomato fruit) and to evaluate the possible health risks associated with the consumption of vegetables. Total concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Se and Zn were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Transfer factor (TF), daily intake of metals (DIM) and health risk index (HRI) were also calculated. Microbial quality was analyzed for the presence of foodborne pathogens. The pH involved from 6.50 ± 0.1 to 9.40 ± 0.12 respectively for Boulmiougou and Kossodo. The mean metal concentrations indicated that soils were strongly polluted followed by wastewater and vegetable. The range of the mean values (in mg · kg-1) exhibited by As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Se and Zn in tomato fruit was 17.80 ± 0.32, 2.71 ± 0.02, 11.57 ± 0.2, 203.41 ± 1.20, 15.13 ± 0.30, 53.18 ± 0.20, 38.56 ± 0.10, 109.13 ± 0.25 concerning samples of Boulmiougou and 3.47 ± 0.15, 2.78 ± 0.01, 22.11 ± 0.1, 242.85 ± 2.10, 14.86 ± 0.10, 132.19 ± 1.50, 33.23 ± 0.15, 146.43 ± 1.12 for Kossodo. Microbial count was below to acceptable limits for vegetable, but underlined the presence of spoiler and foodborne pathogens. However, the daily intake of metals (DIM) and the health risk index (HRI) values were found to be under to the prescribed maximum tolerable.

Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co) in leafy vegetables collected from production sites: their potential health risk to the general population in Shiraz, Iran

Heavy metal contamination of vegetables is a great public health concern. One hundred samples of spinach, dill, cilantro, and cress from the production sites of Shiraz, Iran, and its outskirts were, therefore, examined for lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) content. The potential health risks of these metals to local residents via the consumption of leafy vegetables were also estimated. The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Co were 3.21, 0.28, 4.55, 40.44, 3.11, and 1.86mg/kg dry weight, respectively. The Pb level exceeded the permissible limit of 0.3mg/kg in 44.7% of vegetable samples. The other elements were, however, within FAO/WHO standards. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Co from leafy vegetables was 0.10, 0.01, 0.14, 1.26, 0.10, and 0.06μg/kg body weight/day, respectively. At the mean and 97.5 percentile levels, all health risk index (HRI) values were less than the safe limit (< 1). Thus, within the area this study was focused on, leafy vegetables did not make a major contribution to the dietary intake of the elements which could be mainly attributed to the low vegetable consumption by the study population (20g/day). Nevertheless, the lead content of the vegetables should be viewed with some concern. Regular monitoring of heavy metal contamination of foodstuff is recommended to control the sources of contaminants in the food chain.

Risk assessment for potentially toxic metal(loid)s in potatoes in the indigenous zinc smelting area of northwestern Guizhou Province, China

We investigated potentially toxic metal (loid)s (arsenic, As; cadmium, Cd; chromium, Cr; copper, Cu; mercury, Hg; lead, Pb; selenium, Se; and zinc, Zn) in agricultural samples (i.e., Solanum tuberosum L. tubers (potatoes) and their planting media) in the indigenous zinc smelting area of northwestern Guizhou Province, China. Based on the pollution index values for As, Cd, Pb and Zn, the order of the samples was as follow: slag > planting soil with slag > planting soil without slag, and the order of the samples in terms of the bioconcentration factor was the opposite. Cr, Cu and Hg were present in the planting soil with and without slag at slight pollution levels, and the other potentially toxic metal (loid)s had different degrees of contamination. Additionally, the potentially toxic metal (loid) contents in potato were under their limit values except for Cd (all samples) and Pb and Se (some samples). All bioconcentration factors for potatoes were below 0.5, and no health risk index value for potatoes was higher than 0.1. Therefore, although no significant health risk associated with potentially toxic metal (loid)s via consuming potato exists for either adult men or women in the research area, the Cd concentration in this crop should be monitored.

Groundwater Quality and Health Risk Assessment in Rural Areas of District Jaffarabad, Baluchistan (Pakistan)

Water quality has considerable impact on public health especially in areas where access to safe drinking water is very difficult. Keeping in view, drinking water quality in rural areas of district, Jaffarabad was assessed by evaluating 50 groundwater and 25 surface water samples for various physicochemical parameters (color, odour, taste, conductivity, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, hardness and TDS), metallic elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe and As) and microbiological organisms (total coliform and faecal coliform) employing standard methods. Analysis data revealed high level of microbial contamination as 62 and 84% water samples contained total coliform and 58 and 80% samples were having faecal coliform in groundwater and surface water samples, respectively. On the other hand 12, 36, 44, 14, 50 & 32% and 84, 32, 32, 20, 44 & 60% water samples were having higher turbidity, hardness, TDS, Cl-, SO4-2 and Fe in ground and surface water samples respectively. Health risk assessment data due to high content of Fe and As showed that mean chronic daily intake (CDI) and health risk index (HRI) for As was higher than Fe in both surface and groundwater samples, whereas calculated HRI for all water samples is less than 1. Other than this, CDI and HRI values for Fe in surface water samples are higher than groundwater samples.

Non-carcinogenic risk assessment to human health due to intake of fluoride in the groundwater in rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, Iran: A case study

ABSTRACTIn this study, a field research regarding groundwater contamination with fluoride and its related health risks to human health was carried out in 39 rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, Iran, in 2017. The results indicated that fluoride levels in two rural areas exceeded the WHO guideline. A total of 55% and 4.7% of the studied rural areas in Gonabad and Bajestan, respectively, had fluoride levels below the minimum recommended value of WHO for fluoride (0.5 mg/L). In this article, chronic non-cancer risks to three different groups of people, adults, children, and infants, for exposure to the fluoride were assessed. Health risk index values for fluoride contamination for 44% and 90% of children and infants in rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, respectively, were more than unity (>1), which clearly reveals that these age groups at the studied areas are at the chronic health risk due to the intake of fluoride-containing water. The order of fluoride contribution to non-carcinogenic health risk among the studied age groups was infants > children > adults. Therefore, from a public health viewpoint, it would be prudent and important that risk reduction measures be implemented to diminish the total body burden of fluoride in residents.

Minimizing the risk to human health due to the ingestion of arsenic and toxic metals in vegetables by the application of biochar, farmyard manure and peat moss

Mining activity releases toxic metals (TMs) into the soil ecosystem and creates serious problems for the environment and human beings due to their adverse eco-toxilogical impacts. Currently, several remediation techniques can be used to immobilize TMs within contaminated soil. The present study focuses on the application of different organic amendments biochar (B), farmyard manure (FYM) and peat moss (PTM) – at different application rates (1%, 2% and 5%) in mining-impacted agricultural soil to immobilize TMs (Ni, Cr, As, Zn, Cd and Pb) and minimize their bioaccumulation in pea (Pisum sativum) and chili (Capsicum annuum) and the associated human health risk. Among the organic amendments, the treatments at the 5% application rate of B, FYM and PTM significantly (p ≤ 0.001) reduced the bioavailability of TM concentrations in amended soil and increased pea and chili plants' and fruits' biomasses when compared with the control. Moreover, risk assessments showed that B, FYM and PTM decreased the daily intake and health risk associated with the consumption of vegetables effectively for individual TMs compared with the control. The highest application rate of 5% significantly (p ≤ 0.001) reduced the average daily intake of TMs and their health risk, as compared to 1% and 2%, for both adults and children. The health risk index (HRI ˂ 1) values were lower (and within safety limits) for adults and children consuming vegetables grown on organic-amended soils. The results indicate that the B5% treatment of this mining-impacted agricultural soil was the most efficient at increasing plant and fruit biomasses and reducing the bioavailability, bioaccumulation and daily intake of TMs and their potential health risk through consumption of vegetables such as pea and chili, as compared to FYM, PTM and the control treatment.

Spectroscopic Analysis of Selected Priority Trace Metals in the Extant East African Gilled Lungfish (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Protopterus amphibius&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;) in Lira Municipal Lagoon and Its Edibility Health Risk

This investigation analyzed the concentrations of three trace metals in gilled lungfish of Lira Municipal lagoon of Lira District and estimated the health risk associated with its consumption. Three fresh lungfish samples from the down, middle and up sluices of the lagoon were caught, eviscerated, washed and sundried. Edible muscles of the samples were oven dried at 105°C, desiccated and pulverized. 2.0 ± 0.1g of the fine fish powders were ashed at 550°C, acid digested, and the filtrates used to prepare 1 litre sample solutions. The sample solutions were analyzed for Lead, Zinc and Cadmium by Atomic absorption spectrometry. Spectroscopic results showed that no Cadmium was detected while the statistical mean concentrations of Zinc and Lead in the fishes from down, middle and up streams in mg/kg were 157.8 ± 0.01, 160.2 ± 0.02, 158.2 ± 0.01 and 6.84 ± 0.01, 1.69 ± 0.03, 5.12 ± 0.01 respectively. The above results showed that the trace metals in the investigated fish samples are deleteriously above the maximum permissible Zinc (0.7mg/kg) and Lead (0.3mg/kg) levels in fish indicated by CODEX STAN 193-1995. The statistical Estimated Daily Intakes were from 26.27 to 26.66 mg/kg/day for Zinc and 0.28 to 1.48 mg/kg/day for Lead. A heightened Health Risk Index value of 88.67 for Zinc was observed in the middle stream lungfish samples while Lead had the lowest Health Risk Index value of 2.00 in the middle stream fish from the lagoon. All the Health Risk Index values were greater than unity except for Chromium that was undetected in the fish muscles thus the lungfish of the lagoon is unsafe for human consumption and continuous consumption will impact human health. The immediate strategy lies in fencing the lagoon area and putting a stringent restriction against fishing from the lagoon.

Analysis of Contamination Levels of Cu, Pb, and Zn and Population Health Risk via Consumption of Processed Meat Products

Background: Due to the world research for non-carcinogenic risk assessment of heavy metals in the processed meat products, the aim of the present study was to determine the contents of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) and associated health risks through consumption of sausage and ham marketed in Hamadan city in 2016. Methods: In this descriptive study, 30 samples from 10 brands of sausage and 30 samples from 10 brands of ham (totally 60 samples) were collected from the market basket of Hamadan city. After preparation and processing of the samples in the laboratory, the concentration of metals was determined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The health risk index (HRI) was assessed based on the ratio of average daily intake of metal (DIM) to the reference dose of the metal. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (version 20). Results: The results showed that the mean concentrations (mg/kg) of Cu, Pb, and Zn were 1.88 ± 0.69, 0.35 ± 0.18, and 4.61 ± 1.71 in sausage samples and 1.48 ± 0.25, 0.32 ± 0.11, and 3.18 ± 1.28 in ham samples. Pb was higher than the maximum permissible level (0.20 mg/kg) in 80% of the samples. In addition, the computed health risk index showed no potential risk for adults and children via consumption of studied foodstuffs. Conclusions: According to the results, the HRI values of analyzed processed meat products were within the safe limits and there was no potential health risk for human through the consumption of them under the current consumption rate. However, considering that the mean content of Pb in 80% of the samples exceeded the MPL, serious attention should be paid to the discharge of pollutants to the environment, chemicals residue monitoring especially for toxic heavy metals in foodstuff, and control of heavy metals content during the whole production process of sausage and ham.

Health risk assessment of arsenic and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Co, Pb, and Sn) through consumption of caviar of Acipenser persicus from Southern Caspian Sea.

In the current study contents of As, Cd, Cu, Co, Pb, and Sn were determined in the caviar of Persian sturgeon collected from Southern Caspian Sea sampling site. After acid digestion of caviar specimens, the concentrations of elements determined using ICP-OES. The results showed that the mean concentrations (mgkg-1) of elements in caviar samples were 0.01 for As, 0.05 for Cd, 1.42 for Cu, 0.01 for Co, 0.01 for Pb, and 0.28 for Sn and for all the elements are significantly lower than the adverse level for the human consumption. Also, health risk index (HRI) values were within the safe limits (HRI < 1). Therefore, there is no potential health risk to adults and children via consumption of caviar. Due to the discharge of hazardous chemicals into the marine ecosystems especially the Caspian Sea, residue analysis of pollutants in the sea foods is recommended.

Toxicological assessment of inorganic arsenic and zinc content in button mushrooms

Nowadays, discharge of toxic heavy metals into the environment is anincreasing global concern. In light of this and that the per capita consumption of mushrooms has increased in Iran, the current study was carried out to investigate the levels and health-risk assessment of elements arsenic (As) and zinc (Zn) through consumption of button mushrooms marketed in Kermanshah city in 2016.In this descriptive study, a total of 30 samples from 10 brands of edible mushrooms were collected from the market basket of Kermanshah city. After preparation and processing of the samples in the laboratory, the contents of the studied elements were determined using ICP-OES. Also, all statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS version 19 statistical package. Based on the results, the contents (mg/kg) of arsenic and zinc with an average of 65.23±13.57 and with an average of 66.23±2.80 respectively were higher than the maximum permissible limit (MPL). Also, the results showed that all the computed values of health risk index (HRI) of both elements in adults, but only Zn in children, were within safe limits (HRI<1).On the other hand, the HRI values of children with an average of 1.47 were more than the safe limit and led to a potential health risk under the current mushrooms consumption per capita for this age group. Therefore, serious attention to the discharge of chemicals into the environment and monitoring of the residue levels of pollutants, especially toxic heavy metals and pesticides in the foodstuffs, is recommended.

Influence of groundwater and wastewater irrigation on lead accumulation in soil and vegetables: Implications for health risk assessment and phytoremediation

ABSTRACTThe current study evaluated the effect of groundwater and wastewater irrigation on lead (Pb) accumulation in soil and vegetables, and its associated health implications. A pot experiment was conducted in which spinach (Spinacia oleracea), radish (Raphanus sativus), and cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) were irrigated with groundwater and wastewaters containing varying concentrations of Pb. Lead contents were measured in wastewaters, soils and root and shoot of vegetables. We also measured health risk index (HRI) associated with the use of vegetables irrigated by wastewaters. Results revealed that Pb contents in groundwater and wastewater samples (range: 0.18–0.31 mg/L) were below the permissible limits (0.5 mg/L) set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Application of Pb-containing groundwater and wastewater increased Pb concentration in soil and vegetables. Lead concentrations in all soils ranged from 10 to 31 mg/kg and were below the permissible limits of 300 mg/kg set by the European Union. Significant Pb enrichment was observed in the soils whereby all types of vegetables were grown and assessed for Pb risk. Our data showed that Pb contents, in all three vegetables (21–28 mg/kg DW), were higher than the permissible Pb limit of FAO (5 mg/kg Dry Weight (DW)). The HRI values were > 1.0 for radish and cauliflower. It is proposed that Vehari city wastewater/groundwater must be treated prior to its use for irrigation to avoid vegetable contamination by Pb, and as such for reducing Pb-induced human health risk.

Potential health risk assessment of heavy metals via consumption of caviar of Persian sturgeon

Caviar may contain high levels of toxic metals. Therefore determination of health risk assessment of the heavy metals in this luxury product is vital. In this study, an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer and a Direct Mercury Analyzer were used to assess the contents of elements in caviar of wild Persian sturgeon. The results showed that the contents of Ba, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mn and Zn (mgkg−1) in caviar samples were 0.95, 0.27, 71.3, 1.44, 0.01 and 17.0, respectively. Also, Health Risk Index values were within the safe limits (HRI<1), and there is no potential health risk for adults and children via consumption of caviar. Finally, considering the contents of Fe and Hg were higher than Maximum Permissible Limits in the caviar samples related to the discharge of pollutants into the aquatic environment, monitoring of chemicals accumulation in the foodstuff is recommended.

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence detection of heavy metals in Bangladesh cows' milk.

It is considered that cow's milk is almost complete food for human as it provides most of the micronutrients and macronutrients. The cow's milks are essential for the growth and development especially for children. The main compositions of cow's milk are protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals which are well defined. Presently, the study of micronutrients and toxic elements in cow's milk has been widely carried out particularly in the industrialized and polluted regions because of its possibility of contamination, and thereby health risk of the consumers. The elemental composition in local cow's milk samples in Bangladesh is not well studied yet. The present study was therefore aimed to determine the level of heavy metals (Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Mn, Cu, Zn and Fe) in cow's milk using EDXRF technique. Subsequently, the experimental data was used to calculate the human health risk through the intake of both powder and liquid cows’ milk available in Bangladesh. The results showed that powder milk contains significantly higher concentration of heavy metals than liquid milk samples. The HRI (health risk index) and HI (hazard index) values for most of the elements in all milk samples were within the safe limit (<1.0) or close to safe limit (≤1.0) with an exception of Hg. However, HRI value for Hg in powder milk samples for both children and adult showed a value higher than one (>1). MPI (metal pollution index) value for powder milk samples are very high compared to other type of milk samples analyzed in this study. Therefore, it has been suggested that heavy metal contamination through local powder milk samples might have significant negative impact (threat) on human health.

Transfer of Heavy Metals from Soils to Vegetables and Associated Human Health Risks at Selected Sites in Pakistan.

Contamination of the food chain with heavy metals is considered as one of the major environmental pathways of human exposure to metals leading to potential health risks. This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of heavy metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and manganese (Mn) in agricultural soils and food crops (fruit, leaf, and root vegetables), and their associated health risks to the local population in selected southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The concentrations of the selected metals in soil varied over a wide range, in the following decreasing order: Mn > Zn > Cr > Ni > Cu. The bioaccumulation of metals in vegetables was within the permissible risk limits, except for Cr which showed higher contamination in all the tested food crops. The trend of metal transfer factors for different vegetables was in the order of Cu > Ni > Cr > Mn > Zn, while the calculated daily intake of metals (DIM) in adults and children through consumption of food crops was in the decreasing order of Mn > Zn > Ni > Cr > Cu. The health risk index (HRI) values for the heavy metals for both adults and children were less than 1. Therefore, no significant health risk is anticipated for the local consumers through ingestion of these food crops.