Abstract
In the developing world, vegetables are commonly grown in suburban areas irrigated with untreated wastewater containing potentially harmful elements (PHEs). In Pakistan, there is no published work on the bioaccessibility aspect of PHEs and dietary minerals (DMs) in sewage-irrigated soil or the vegetables grown on such soils in Pakistan. Several industrial districts of Pakistan were selected for assessment of the risk associated with the ingestion of vegetables grown over sewage-irrigated soils. Both the total and bioaccessible fraction of PHEs (Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, and Pb) and DMs (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca, Mg, and I) in soils and vegetable samples were measured. The concentrations of these PHEs and DMs in sewage-irrigated and control soils were below published upper threshold limits. However, compared to control soils, sewage irrigation over the years decreased soil pH (7.7 vs 8.1) and enhanced dissolved organic carbon (1.8 vs 0.8 %), which could enhance the phyto-availability of PHEs and DMs to crops. Of the PHEs and DMs, the highest transfer factor (soil to plant) was noted for Cd and Ca, respectively. Concentrations of PHEs in most of the sewage-irrigated vegetables were below the published upper threshold limits, except for Cd in the fruiting portion of eggplant and bell pepper (0.06–0.08 mg/kg Cd, dry weight) at three locations in Gujarat and Kasur districts. The bioaccessible fraction of PHEs can reduce the context of dietary intake measurements compared to total concentrations, but differences between both measurements were not significant for Cd. Since the soils of the sampled districts are not overly contaminated compared to control sites, vegetables grown over sewage-irrigated soils would provide an opportunity to harvest mineral-rich vegetables potentially providing consumers 62, 60, 12, 104, and 63 % higher dietary intake of Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca, and Mg, respectively. Based on Fe and vanadium correlations in vegetables, it is inferred that a significant proportion of total dietary Fe intake could be contributed by soil particles adhered to the consumable portion of vegetables. Faecal sterol ratios were used to identify and distinguish the source of faecal contamination in soils from Gujranwala, Gujarat, and Lahore districts, confirming the presence of human-derived sewage biomarkers at different stages of environmental alteration. A strong correlation of some metals with soil organic matter concentration was observed, but none with sewage biomarkers.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 707-728 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Environmental Geochemistry and Health |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 18 Jun 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 Aug 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors gratefully acknowledge the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Trust Fund for enabling the collaboration between the Fauji Fertiliser Company, Ayub Agriculture Research Institute and British Geological Survey and in addition the Centre for Environmental Geochemistry-BGS for funding. This paper is published with the permission of the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Keywords
- Bioaccessibility
- Dietary intake
- Dietary minerals
- Faecal sterols
- Micronutrients
- Potentially harmful elements
- Sewage irrigation
- Transfer factor
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Chemistry
- Water Science and Technology
- Environmental Science(all)
- Geochemistry and Petrology