QUANTIFICATION OF HEAVY METALS AND RELATED HEALTH RISKS THROUGH CONSUMPTION OF DIFFERENT FOODSTUFFS COLLECTED FROM FIVE DIFFERENT MARKETPLACES OF DHAKA CITY

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the concentrations of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) status in commonly consumed foodstuffs such as, various parts of boiler and cock chicken (breast meat, leg meat, bone, liver, and brain), as well as some common foods (egg albumin, yolk, raw rice, black gram, fine and coarse lentil) collected from five different marketplaces of Dhaka city and to assess potential human health risks through the consumption of those foodstuffs. A total of 70 food samples were analyzed for Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Mn, and Cd contents by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The contents of Cu, Pb, and Cd, were found in most of the analyzed foodstuff samples that exceeded the FAO/WHO maximum allowable concentration (MAC) value. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for all heavy metals was below the corresponding maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI). The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values of Cd in egg, rice, black gram, coarse, and fine lentil samples exceeded the threshold limit (ILCR > 10 ii

−4 ) for both adults and children, indicating lifetime cancer risk due to the consumption of contaminated foods. Although the threshold limit (ILCR > 10 −4 ) for selected body parts of both boiler and cock chicken was lower except bone sample. The target hazard quotient (THQ) of each heavy metal was THQ < 1.0 in all chicken and egg samples but THQ > 1.0 was observed in rice and coarse lentil samples for Fe, Pb, and Cd, indicating that consumers have potential non-cancer risk when exposed to a single heavy metal. However, hazard index (HI) values of heavy metals were greater than one in contaminated rice and coarse lentil for adults and children. Meanwhile, rice and coarse lentil samples for children emerged as potential health risks for inhabitants in the studied areas. Among the individual metals, Cu was the most dominant metal present in different foodstuffs collected from different marketplaces of Dhaka city and contributed to significant risk to the people.