Assessment of zinc and nickel profile of vegetables grown in soil irrigated with sewage water

Abstract

The current investigation assessed the nickel and zinc contents of the soil, and the vegetables grown in wastewater irrigated areas. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AA-6300 Shimadzu Japan) assessed the metal profile of the samples. The mean concentrations of metals in soil samples varied from O.O85 to 1.611 mg/kg for Ni and O.453 ~ O.9O8 mg/kg for Zn. In vegetables, the maximum Ni concentration was observed in Capsicum baccatum consequent to wastewater irrigation, while its minimum concentrations were noticed in Capsicum frutescens after canal water irrigation. Sewage water irrigation resulted in the highest Zn contents in Solanum lycopersicum and the lowest Zn contents were noticed in Capsicum baccatum after canal water irrigation. The daily intake values of Ni and Zn were higher caused by sewage water irrigation as compared to the canal water irrigation in all tested vegetable samples. Health risk index (HRI) values for Ni and Zn accumulation in vegetables fell within the permissible limit in Pakistan and these were regarded as appropriate for human intake.