Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in agricultural soil and food crops in Hamadan, Iran

• Published in: Journal of food composition and analysis 2021-07, Vol.100, p.103890, Article 103890
• Main Authors: Kharazi, Ava, Leili, Mostafa, Khazaei, Mohammad, Alikhani, Mohammad Yusef, Shokoohi, Reza
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural soil; Crops; Food analysis; Food composition; Hamadan province; Health risk assessment; Heavy metals; Monte carlo simulation
• ISSN: 0889-1575; 1096-0481
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2021.103890

•Heavy metals in agricultural soil were lower than the limit except for Ni and Cr.•Mean values of Pb, Fe, As, Cr, Cd, and Hg in crops were higher than the limits.•For wastewater irrigation, As has the highest impact on total non-carcinogenic risk.•Target hazard quotient of As in agricultural soil and crops was exceeded the permissable level.•95th percentile of carcinogenic risk for Ni, Cd, and As via the crops exceeded the limits in adults. In this study, 103 water, agricultural soil, and crops irrigated with wastewater or tube-well water were collected, and their heavy metal content was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The Monte Carlo simulation method was used for exposure assessment and investigation of the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic effects of the studied elements in the crops.. The results showed that the mean heavy metal contents of agricultural soil was lower than the suggested limit, except for Ni (84 ± 27 mg/kg dry weight). The mean concentrations of Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb, Cr, As, Co, Ni, Cd, and Hg in the crops were 31 ± 35.7, 3.7 ± 3, 3.2 ± 2, 0.98 ± 0.7, 0.28 ± 0.4, 0.14 ± 0.1, 0.06 ± 0.06, 0.03 ± 0.04, 0.19 ± 0.15, 0.03 ± 0.06, and 0.01 ± 0.06 mg/kg fresh weight, respectively.. The non-carcinogenic risk of As was 1.5E + 00 in the agricultural soil and 1.47E + 00 in the crops (target hazard quotient >1.0). Moreover, the carcinogenic risk of As was 1.15E-04, which is higher than the safe level in children (1 × 10−6). Also, the carcinogenic risk of Ni, Cd, and As in most vegetables was higher than the tolerable limit (1 × 10−6). In conclusion, the present results provided some basic information about heavy metal contamination of crops and human health risks in Hamadan, Iran.