Human health risk assessment of toxic heavy metals in summer crops and vegetables: a study in Ilam Province, Iran

Ali Amarloei; Seyed Abbas Mirzaei; Zahra Noorimotlagh; Shahrokh Nazmara; Heshmatollah Nourmoradi; Neamatollah Jaafarzadeh Haghighi Fard; Mohsen Heidari; Fazel Mohammadi-Moghadam; Sajad Mazloomi

doi:10.1007/s40201-023-00881-y

Human health risk assessment of toxic heavy metals in summer crops and vegetables: a study in Ilam Province, Iran

J Environ Health Sci Eng. 2023 Nov 1;22(1):139-148. doi: 10.1007/s40201-023-00881-y. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Health and Environment Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
² Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
³ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Environmental Technologies Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
⁵ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: The presence of toxic heavy metals (HMs) in agricultural crops ‎can be considered as a noteworthy threat for consumers. The aim of this study was to assess the content of HMs ‎(Pb, As, Cr, Cd, Co, Hg, and Ag) and their potential health risk in summer crops and vegetables (watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, melon, tomato, onion, ‎potato, raw and stewed vegetables) in Ilam province, Iran.

Methods: Totally, 31 crop samples were collected from local farms during the 2019 harvest ‎season and the elements ‎ content were evaluated using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The non-carcinogenic health risk of HMs to the adults and children was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation method and target hazard quotients (THQs).

Results: In general, the results showed that the concentration of Cr in the studied ‎agricultural crops was higher than other HMs. As well as, the carcinogenic risk (CR) obtained for adults and children were more than the acceptable range for As. Also, CR for As in raw vegetable was the most (‎8.19E-1) and violated the threshold risk limit. The total carcinogenic risk of HMs in children was higher than that in adults.

Conclusion: These results suggest that the agricultural crops were not safe for human consumption with potential risks associated. Due to the possible health effects of such products consumption, proper action should be taken to avoid chronic exposure, prevention of further pollution and consequent adverse health implications.

Keywords: Agricultural crops; Health risk assessment; Heavy metals; Ilam province.

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