Biology Department, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Soil Science Department, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Sep;28(36):50217-50229. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-14249-y. Epub 2021 May 5.
Food safety has often attracted attention worldwide. Few studies have investigated the heavy metal (HM) pollution and health risk assessment of crops and vegetables. The current work was conducted to evaluate the human risk assessment of HM (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn) in radish, lettuce, tomato, onion, turnip, squash, okra, sunflower, Jews mallow, and garden rocket cultivated in treated wastewater (TWW)-irrigated sites as compared with those cultivated in freshwater (FW)-irrigated sites. Irrigation water, soil, and different plants were collected from 6 farmlands irrigated with TWW and two agricultural sites irrigated with FW (Nile river). Heavy metal transfer factor (HMTF), chronic daily intake of metals (CDIM), health hazard risk (HR), and health hazard index (HI) were estimated. The results showed that the tested HM levels in FW and TWW were below the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Egyptian standards recommended for irrigation. In soil samples, HM levels were below the permissible limits for both tested sites. The HM in soil and plants grew in TWW-irrigated sites possessed multiple levels higher than those grown in FW-irrigated sites. Among different plants, HM levels in the edible parts of plants grown in TWW-irrigated sites followed in decreasing order: tomato > sunflower >Jew's mallow = turnip = squash > lettuce > okra = radish > onion > garden rocket. The mean CDIM and HR values of plants irrigated using TWW were higher than those irrigated using FW. Furthermore, HR values for all plants grown in polluted and unpolluted sites were < 1 except Cd in plants grown in the TWW-irrigated farmlands. The mean HI for radish, lettuce, tomato, onion, turnip, squash, okra, sunflower, Jews mallow, and garden rocket grown in TWW-irrigated sites were 2.08, 2.39, 1.76, 1.53, 2.08, 1.80, 2.03, 1.91, 1.82, and 1.44 (for adult), and 2.39, 2.75, 2.71, 1.75, 2.38, 2.06, 2.33, 2.69, 2.10, and 1.65 (for children). Plants irrigated with TWW showed a higher HMTF than plants irrigated with FW. Jew's mallow and okra irrigated with TWW had a maximum HMTF. Consequently, different practical measures can be taken to minimize the HM levels in agricultural foodstuffs. These measures include preventing the excessive application of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production and continuous monitoring of different foodstuffs in the market.
食品安全一直以来都是全世界关注的焦点。尽管有少数研究调查了农作物和蔬菜中的重金属（HM）污染和健康风险评估，但目前还没有研究评估经处理污水（TWW）灌溉农田种植的萝卜、生菜、番茄、洋葱、萝卜、南瓜、黄秋葵、向日葵、锦葵和火箭菜等作物中的重金属（Cu、Cd、Cr、Pb 和 Zn）的人体健康风险。本研究旨在评估与淡水（FW）灌溉农田相比，TWW 灌溉农田中种植的作物和蔬菜中的重金属（HM）（Cu、Cd、Cr、Pb 和 Zn）对人体的健康风险。在尼罗河灌溉的 6 个 TWW 灌溉农田和两个 FW 灌溉农业区采集灌溉水、土壤和不同植物样本。估算了重金属转移因子（HMTF）、金属慢性日摄入量（CDIM）、健康危害风险（HR）和健康危害指数（HI）。结果表明，FW 和 TWW 中的测试 HM 水平均低于粮农组织（FAO）和埃及推荐的灌溉标准。在土壤样本中，两个测试地点的 HM 水平均低于允许限值。TWW 灌溉土壤和植物中的 HM 含量高于 FW 灌溉土壤和植物中的 HM 含量。在不同的植物中，TWW 灌溉农田种植的可食用部分植物中的 HM 含量依次降低：番茄>向日葵>锦葵=萝卜=南瓜>生菜>黄秋葵>萝卜>洋葱>火箭菜。用 TWW 灌溉的植物的平均 CDIM 和 HR 值高于用 FW 灌溉的植物。此外，除 TWW 灌溉农田种植的植物中的 Cd 外，所有在污染和未污染地区种植的植物的 HR 值均<1。在 TWW 灌溉农田种植的萝卜、生菜、番茄、洋葱、萝卜、南瓜、黄秋葵、向日葵、锦葵和火箭菜的平均 HI 分别为 2.08、2.39、1.76、1.53、2.08、1.80、2.03、1.91、1.82 和 1.44（成人）和 2.39、2.75、2.71、1.75、2.38、2.06、2.33、2.69、2.10 和 1.65（儿童）。用 TWW 灌溉的植物的 HMTF 高于用 FW 灌溉的植物。用 TWW 灌溉的锦葵和黄秋葵具有最大的 HMTF。因此，可以采取不同的实用措施来尽量减少农业食品中的 HM 含量。这些措施包括防止作物生产中过度使用农药和化肥，并对市场上的不同食品进行持续监测。
