Bioaccumulation of arsenic and fluoride in vegetables from growing media: health risk assessment among different age groups

• Published in: Environmental geochemistry and health 2019-06, Vol.41 (3), p.1223-1234
• Main Authors: Kazi, Tasneem G., Brahman, Kapil D., Baig, Jameel A., Afridi, Hassan I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Agricultural land; Arsenic; Bioaccumulation; Clusters; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Fluorides; Folds; Geochemistry; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Original Paper; Public Health; Rain; Rain water; Risk assessment; Soil; Soil contamination; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil water storage; Terrestrial Pollution; Transportation; Vegetables; Water pollution
• ISSN: 0269-4042; 1573-2983
• DOI: 10.1007/s10653-018-0207-8

The current study was conducted to evaluate the arsenic (As) and fluoride (F − ) concentrations in growing media (stored rainwater and soil), of district Tharparkar, Pakistan. The bioaccumulation/transportation of As and F from growing media to different types of vegetables (wild cucumis, Indian squish and cluster bean) was evaluated. Total concentrations of As and F − in stored rainwater samples were observed up to 585 μg/L and 32.4 mg/L, respectively, exceeding many folds higher than WHO provisional guideline values. The As and F − contents in soil samples of nine agricultural sites were found in the range of 121–254 mg/kg and 115–478 mg/kg, respectively. The highest contents of As and F − were observed in wild cucumis as compared to Indian squish and cluster bean ( p   4.00, indicating the high rate of transportation of As and F − from growing media to vegetables. A significant positive correlation of As and F − in vegetables with their concentrations in soil and water was observed ( r  > 0.60 with p