Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Student Research Committee, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2018 Nov;25(31):30894-30906. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-3081-0. Epub 2018 Sep 3.
Recently, the exposure to heavy metals through the consumption of vegetables has become a global concern. In this regard, the current study was aimed to measure the concentrations of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in the collected onion bulb samples as well as the surrounded soil using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). Additionally, the target hazard quotient (THQ) for males and females in all age groups of consumers were estimated by using Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method. Furthermore, the soil threshold values (STVs) were evaluated to investigate the heavy metal contents in the soil based on the established standard limits. In this context, 45 onion bulbs (HashtBandi region, 25 and Ravang region, 20) and 41 soil (HashtBandi region, 21 and Ravang region, 20) samples were collected (March-May of 2016). The average concentrations of Pb in the onions from HashtBandi and Ravang regions were determined as 0.0052 ± 0.0011 and 0.0061 ± 0.0022 mg/kg, and for Cd were 0.0095 ± 0.0024 and 0.0011 ± 0.0035 mg/kg, respectively. The average concentration of Pb in the soil from HashtBandi and Ravang regions were measured as 3.99 ± 3.77 and 2.03 ± 0.69 mg/kg, and for Cd, the corresponding values were determined as 2.21 ± 3.17 and 2.22 ± 0.92 mg/kg, respectively. The average concentration of Pb and Cd in both investigated onion bulb and soil were lower than Iranian national (onion bulb: Pb = 0.1 mg/kg, Cd = 0.05 mg/kg) and FAO/WHO (onion bulb: Pb = 0.3 mg/kg, Cd = 0.1 mg/kg; soil: Pb = 50 mg/kg, Cd = 0.3 mg/kg) standard limits. Moreover, the THQ and total target hazard quotient (TTHQ) for males and females in all age groups were less than 1 value. Therefore, no risk of the exposure to Pb and Cd as result of onion bulb consumption was reported. STVs for Pb and Cd in the HashtBandi region were calculated as 3.99 and 2.21 mg/kg, and Ravang as 2.03 and 2.22 mg/kg, respectively. Due to the higher calculated STVs for Cd while compared with the established standard limit for the soil, the further revisions regarding the heavy metal standard limits in the soil were recommended.
最近，人们越来越关注通过食用蔬菜摄入重金属的问题。因此，本研究旨在使用火焰原子吸收光谱仪（FAAS）测量收集的洋葱鳞茎样本以及周围土壤中的铅（Pb）和镉（Cd）浓度。此外，还使用蒙特卡罗模拟（MCS）方法估算了所有年龄段消费者中男性和女性的目标危害商（THQ）。此外，还评估了土壤阈值（STV），以根据既定标准限值调查土壤中的重金属含量。在这方面，收集了 45 个洋葱鳞茎（HashtBandi 地区 25 个，Ravang 地区 20 个）和 41 个土壤（HashtBandi 地区 21 个，Ravang 地区 20 个）样本（2016 年 3 月至 5 月）。HashtBandi 和 Ravang 地区洋葱中 Pb 的平均浓度分别为 0.0052±0.0011 和 0.0061±0.0022mg/kg，Cd 的平均浓度分别为 0.0095±0.0024 和 0.0011±0.0035mg/kg。HashtBandi 和 Ravang 地区土壤中 Pb 的平均浓度分别为 3.99±3.77 和 2.03±0.69mg/kg，Cd 的平均浓度分别为 2.21±3.17 和 2.22±0.92mg/kg。调查的洋葱鳞茎和土壤中 Pb 和 Cd 的平均浓度均低于伊朗国家标准（洋葱鳞茎：Pb=0.1mg/kg，Cd=0.05mg/kg）和粮农组织/世界卫生组织标准（洋葱鳞茎：Pb=0.3mg/kg，Cd=0.1mg/kg；土壤：Pb=50mg/kg，Cd=0.3mg/kg）。此外，所有年龄段男性和女性的 THQ 和总目标危害商（TTHQ）均小于 1。因此，报告称食用洋葱不会导致 Pb 和 Cd 暴露的风险。HashtBandi 地区 Pb 和 Cd 的 STV 分别计算为 3.99 和 2.21mg/kg，Ravang 地区分别为 2.03 和 2.22mg/kg。由于 Cd 的计算 STV 高于土壤的既定标准限值，因此建议对土壤中的重金属标准限值进行进一步修订。
