Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination and the Risk of Target Hazard Quotient in Some Vegetables in Isfahan

Pollution, 6(1): 69-78, Winter 2020 DOI: 10.22059/poll.2019.285113.645 Print ISSN: 2383-451X Online ISSN: 2383-4501 Web Page: https://jpoll.ut.ac.ir, Email: [email protected] Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination and the Risk of Target Hazard Quotient in Some Vegetables in Isfahan Miranzadeh Mahabadi, H.,1 Ramroudi, M.,1 Asgharipour, M. R.,1* Rahmani, H. R.2 and Afyuni, M.3 1. Department of Agronomy, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran 2. Soil and Water Department, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Isfahan, Iran 3. Department of Soil Sciences, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran Received: 10.07.2019 Accepted: 14.10.2019 ABSTRACT: The main objective of this study is to evaluate heavy metals contamination of highly consumed vegetables and hazardous effects of consuming these vegetables. The study was conducted in vegetable fields in three different regions according to the level of environmental pollutions, including "Isfahan", "Flavarjan" and "Faridan, Golpayegan and Natanz". Six types of vegetables in each field with three replicates in each region were selected in the summer of 2017 by the random sampling method from vegetable fields. The level of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Co, Cd and Cr) in vegetables has been measured for each sample. The result showed that in the Isfahan region, the highest daily intake of Pb, Cu, Co, Cd and Cr for the consumption of all the vegetables was obtained in the recipients. The highest target hazard quotient for non-cancerous diseases of contaminated vegetables was 28.9 and 21.1 in "Isfahan" for children and adults, respectively. The target hazard quotient for vegetable consumption was greater than one and at high hazard for both age groups. The principal component analysis showed that the contamination by the heavy metals in the "Isfahan" and "Falavarjan" regions overlapped and the risk of contamination of heavy metals in urban vegetables in both regions increased the hazard of non-cancerous diseases. It is highly recommended that the quality standards of foods that are imposed on the production of food crops. Keywords: Heavy metals, Vegetable consumption, Urban pollution, Health risk. INTRODUCTION necessary products that threaten the food The absorption of heavy metals (HMs) by health of society (Wu et al., 2019; the plant on contaminated agricultural land Asgharipour et al., 2019). Informing is one of the main and indirect routes of society first, makes all members of society entry of HMs to human food chains aware of the hazards of consuming (McBride et al., 2014; Ali et al., 2019; unhealthy vegetables and not only pay Amiri et al., 2019). In recent years, farmers attention to the price and appearance of have used contaminated resources to them; second, it moves society to a path produce their agricultural crops in the that, in turn, separates the value of healthy suburbs and rural areas to supply their and unhealthy products, since unhealthy products are not bought in the markets; * Corresponding Author, Email: [email protected] 69 Miranzadeh Mahabadi, H. et al. third, producers know how to use possible in a multidimensional data. These contaminated resources (Jafari et al., 2018; new variables are linear combinations of the Sandeep et al., 2019; Esmaeilzadeh et al., original variables (Hammer et al., 2001). 2019) for production and the hazards This methodology is used to reduce the caused by the use of unhealthy products in dimensions of the data with many relevant society and try to produce more healthy variables without losing data and, however, products and more income (Moradi et al., to protect the maximum changes between 2016; Srinivas et al., 2009). In cold region the data (Gergen & Harmanescu, 2012). of Harbin, China resulted that the content The increase in environmental pollution of soil heavy metals of Cd, Pb, Cu and Cr in waterborne, soil and air requires the were 0.2±0.2, 26.5±8.4, 29.1±8.6 and determination and evaluation of the health 56.5±6.3 respectively (Lv et al., 2019). hazards of vegetable products (Nasrabadi et The first step to assess the extent of HMs al., 2015; Baghaie et al., 2019; Liu et al. contamination in suspected areas is to 2013) because the use of contaminated determine the concentration of HMs, and the vegetables to HMs will increase the risk of analysis of the state of the contaminated area unwanted and unknown hazards and diseases using indices such as the health hazard index of members throughout society (Sandeep et (HI) (Gupta et al., 2013). In one al., 2019). There is an assumption of investigation, the daily absorption of Pb, Cd, pollutions that can enter and accumulate Cu and Cr for adults was 0.28, 0.06, 3.14 and HMs in the food chains due to the presence 0.14 mg.kg of the individual weight, of important and diverse contaminated respectively (Bo et al., 2009). The target resources in the province of Isfahan (Moradi hazard quotient (THQ) of greenhouse et al., 2016). This research was carried out to product consumption in Isfahan was determine the contamination of HMs and to estimated for children, adolescents and adult evaluate the health risk of highly consumed age groups as 2.03, 0.67 and 0.45, vegetable crops (Pop et al., 2009) in three respectively (Aghili et al., 2009). In another regions of Isfahan province. For this purpose, investigation, health risk for men and women many PCA models were constructed and was obtained 2.6 and 2.9, respectively, which calculated with different markers (Abad- shows the negative effects of the resulting Garcia et al., 2012; Ghahremanzadeh et al., non-cancerous diseases by consuming the 2018). Two types of markers were used as products (Salehipour et al., 2015). In main markers for pollution: simple markers, addition, Cr, Pb and Cd showed the highest represented by contaminations of HM in hazards to get the non-cancerous diseases vegetables (Bordean et al., 2011) consumed (Cherfi et al., 2016). by people in Isfahan. A complex marker was Given the variety and diversity of data, also used, namely Target Hazard Quotients research in these fields involves not only (THQ) which links the contamination by modern analytical methods with sensitivity, heavy metals in vegetables with its toxicity, specificity and high accuracy to achieve quantity and quality of vegetable valid results on HMs content in vegetable consumption and the body mass of but also complex statistical methods that consumers (FAO/WHO, 2011). provide the big view in what they are concerned (Pop et al., 2009). The principal MATERIALS AND METHODS components analysis (PCA) estimates the This study was conducted in the summer of correlation structure of the variables by 2017 in Isfahan (51.64481° and finding new hypothetical variables 32.68339°). Samples of vegetable fields (principal components-PC) that account for were taken in three different regions the variance (or correlation) as much as according to environmental contamination; 70 Pollution, 6(1): 69-78, Winter 2020 including (Fig 1), first region (Isfahan), respectively), FI: the fraction ingested of the second region (Falavarjan) and third region concentration of HMs that is absorbed in the (Feridan, Golpayegan and Natanz) (Figure plants (this coefficient was considered 0.4 in 1). Contamination in this research means this investigation), EF: exposure frequency the presence of industries and the resources (day in year, in this investigation it was of producers of industrial pollution and the considered 365 days), ED: exposure use of urban waste to produce vegetables in duration (number of years that vegetable are various areas (Singh et al., 2010; Li et al., used, of non-cancerous diseases for adults 2006). The vegetables sampled for research and children are considered 30 and 13 years included; 1- Leafy vegetables (basil and old), BW: body weight (kg) in this lettuce), 2- Fruity vegetables (cucumber investigation the average body weight of and tomato) and 3-Tuber vegetables adults and children was considered to be (potato and onion). 70.0 and 35.7 kg (Gupta et al., 2013) and Six types of vegetable in each field with AT: average time, obtained by multiplying three replications in each region were the number of years by the number of days selected (one kilogram samples) by the (Pop et al., 2009). random sampling method (a total of 270 Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) is a samples) that were stored in paper bags and complex parameter used to estimate the transferred to the Water and Soil research potential health risks associated with long Laboratory, Isfahan Agricultural and term exposure to different pollutants or Natural Resources Research. Samples were heavy metals, as in our case. For its taken from the edible parts and washed calculation, in addition to metal with distilled water three times and placed contamination of vegetables, other at 75 °C for 48 h to reach a constant parameters were also involved and refer to weight. The samples were ground after the metals toxicity (Orisakwe et al., 2012; drying and stored in paper bags until the Harmanescu et al., 2011). Therefore, THQ time of extraction. For the extraction, a wet is a complex parameter used in the digestion technique with 65% nitric acid evaluation of risks for the health of heavy and 30% hydrogen peroxide was used. The metals that provides a better image related concentrations of HMs (Pb, Cu, Co, Cd to the content of metals in vegetables than and Cr) of the digested plant samples were the use of a simple parameter (Gergen & measured by flame atomic absorption Harmanescu, 2012). Equation 2 was used to spectrometer (Konik Won M300, calculate the THQ of non-cancerous Barcelona, Spain) (Cui et al., 2005).

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