Assessment of human health risk associated with heavy metals from the consumption of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) exposed to low-quality irrigation water of different types

Abstract

Population growth requires food production and supports wastewater reuse for irrigation, practice which introduces toxic metals into soil, severely affecting plant and human health. Water/vegetables/soil samples were analyzed for As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Fe utilizing ICP-MS. Adults and children health risk was evaluated using hazard quotient (HQ). Electrical conductivity, pH, and organic matter varied according to irrigation water and soil samples. Heavy metals between 0.05 and 781.97 mg/kg were present at lower concentrations in vegetables irrigated with tap water (TV1), whereas heavy metals between 1275 and 47 mg/kg exhibited reduced concentrations in soil exposed to tap water (TS1). All the heavy metal concentrations between 0.03 and 219.7 mg/L were lower in tap water. HQ associated with 77.8% metals intake via TV1 was lower in both children and adults. While the HQ of almost 85% metal consumption by adults through vegetables was below one, HQ of nearly 83% of metals consumption exceeded one. This implies that the risk associated with heavy metals in children was almost 100% high than adults. Therefore, remediation technology using volcanic adsorbent rocks is suggested to remove toxic metals from water used to irrigate vegetables to unsure food security and human health.