Mwakalukwa Julius P, Mgimba Antina Baton, Shaban Hassan Said, Ntarisa Amos Vincent
Department of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Mkwawa University College of Education, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 2513, Iringa, Tanzania.
Heliyon. 2024 Nov 29;10(24):e40843. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40843. eCollection 2024 Dec 30.
One of the world's most significant sources of environmental pollution is heavy metals contamination of soil, water, and agricultural products. Liver cancer, kidney damage, anaemia, coma, hypertension and sporadic fever are among the illnesses that might result from consuming plants contaminated with heavy metals. This study assesses heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb) contamination and associated human health risks in amaranth () grown near Don Bosco wastewater treatment plant in Iringa municipal, Tanzania. The study measured the concentration of heavy metals in amaranth vegetables using AAS. The level of Mn in the vegetables ranged between 67.90 and 493.44 mg/kg. The mean concentration of Mn obtained was 280.67 mg/kg, lower than the permissible levels set by FAO/WHO but above the limit as set by TBS. The Cu levels in amaranth ranged between 6.37 and 7.90 mg/kg, with a mean concentration of 7.24 mg/kg lower than the permissible limits set by FAO/WHO and TBS. The Cd levels in amaranth ranged between 0.05 and 0.35 mg/kg, and the mean concentration was 0.20 mg/kg below the permissible limit set by FAO/WHO and TBS. The calculated daily intake consumption fell in the following sequence: Mn > Cu > Cd. The hazard quotient (HQ) for Mn and Cd is 261.66 and 6.45, respectively, higher than the allowed limit (HQ < 1), and the hazard index (HI) for all samples was HI > 1, which indicates the consumption of these veggies could pose a harm to one's health. Additionally, the assessment of cancer risks revealed that Mn and Cd levels exceeded the USEPA recommended threshold of 1E-04, indicating a risk of one additional cancer case for every 10,000 individuals consuming amaranth vegetables. Thus, regularly checking for heavy metal contamination in vegetables is critical to minimize health hazards.
世界上最重要的环境污染源之一是土壤、水和农产品中的重金属污染。食用受重金属污染的植物可能导致肝癌、肾损伤、贫血、昏迷、高血压和间歇性发热等疾病。本研究评估了坦桑尼亚伊林加市唐·博斯科污水处理厂附近种植的苋菜中重金属（铜、锰、镉、铬、镍和铅）污染情况及相关的人类健康风险。该研究使用原子吸收光谱法测量了苋菜蔬菜中重金属的浓度。蔬菜中的锰含量在67.90至493.44毫克/千克之间。测得的锰平均浓度为280.67毫克/千克，低于粮农组织/世界卫生组织规定的允许水平，但高于坦桑尼亚标准局规定的限值。苋菜中的铜含量在6.37至7.90毫克/千克之间，平均浓度为7.24毫克/千克，低于粮农组织/世界卫生组织和坦桑尼亚标准局规定的允许限值。苋菜中的镉含量在0.05至0.35毫克/千克之间，平均浓度为0.20毫克/千克，低于粮农组织/世界卫生组织和坦桑尼亚标准局规定的允许限值。计算得出的每日摄入量消费顺序如下：锰>铜>镉。锰和镉的危害商数（HQ）分别为261.66和6.45，高于允许限值（HQ<1），所有样品的危害指数（HI）均大于1，这表明食用这些蔬菜可能对健康造成危害。此外，癌症风险评估显示，锰和镉的含量超过了美国环境保护局建议的1E-04阈值，这表明每10000名食用苋菜蔬菜的个体中就有一人有患癌症的风险。因此，定期检测蔬菜中的重金属污染对于将健康危害降至最低至关重要。
