Balkhair Khaled S, Ashraf Muhammad Aqeel
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; Center of Excellence in Desalination Technology, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Faculty of Science & Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia; Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2016 Jan;23(1):S32-44. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.09.023. Epub 2015 Oct 9.
Wastewater irrigated fields can cause potential contamination with heavy metals to soil and groundwater, thus pose a threat to human beings . The current study was designed to investigate the potential human health risks associated with the consumption of okra vegetable crop contaminated with toxic heavy metals. The crop was grown on a soil irrigated with treated wastewater in the western region of Saudi Arabia during 2010 and 2011. The monitored heavy metals included Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn for their bioaccumulation factors to provide baseline data regarding environmental safety and the suitability of sewage irrigation in the future. The pollution load index (PLI), enrichment factor (EF) and contamination factor (CF) of these metals were calculated. The pollution load index of the studied soils indicated their level of metal contamination. The concentrations of Ni, Pb, Cd and Cr in the edible portions were above the safe limit in 90%, 28%, 83% and 63% of the samples, respectively. The heavy metals in the edible portions were as follows: Cr > Zn > Ni > Cd > Mn > Pb > Cu > Fe. The Health Risk Index (HRI) was >1 indicating a potential health risk. The EF values designated an enhanced bio-contamination compared to other reports from Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world. The results indicated a potential pathway of human exposure to slow poisoning by heavy metals due to the indirect utilization of vegetables grown on heavy metal-contaminated soil that was irrigated by contaminated water sources. The okra tested was not safe for human use, especially for direct consumption by human beings. The irrigation source was identified as the source of the soil pollution in this study.
废水灌溉农田可能会导致土壤和地下水受到重金属潜在污染，从而对人类构成威胁。当前的研究旨在调查食用受有毒重金属污染的秋葵蔬菜作物所带来的潜在人类健康风险。该作物于2010年至2011年生长在沙特阿拉伯西部地区用经处理的废水灌溉的土壤上。监测的重金属包括镉、铬、铜、铅和锌，以了解它们的生物累积因子，从而提供有关环境安全和未来污水灌溉适用性的基线数据。计算了这些金属的污染负荷指数（PLI）、富集因子（EF）和污染因子（CF）。所研究土壤的污染负荷指数表明了其金属污染水平。可食用部分中镍、铅、镉和铬的浓度分别在90%、28%、83%和63%的样本中超过了安全限值。可食用部分中的重金属含量如下：铬＞锌＞镍＞镉＞锰＞铅＞铜＞铁。健康风险指数（HRI）大于1表明存在潜在健康风险。与沙特阿拉伯和世界其他国家的其他报告相比，EF值表明生物污染有所增强。结果表明，由于间接食用生长在受污染水源灌溉的重金属污染土壤上的蔬菜，人类存在重金属慢性中毒的潜在暴露途径。所检测的秋葵对人类不安全，尤其是直接供人类食用时。在本研究中，灌溉水源被确定为土壤污染的源头。
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