HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT THROUGH QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS IN VEGETABLES FROM THE SOUTHWEST PARTS OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the human health risk through the quantitative determination of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Cd and Cr) from vegetables in the southwest part of Bangladesh. Samples of vegetables and soils were collected from nine upazila of three districts- Satkhira (Assasuni, Kaliganj, Shyamnagar); Jashore (Jikragacha, Monirampur Sorsha); Khulna ( Koyra, Paikgacha, Dumuria).Vegetable species e.g., Spinach, Tomato, Calabash, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Red Amaranth, and Bean. The highest Pb and Cd concentration were found in the Assasuni, Satkhira which were higher than the FAO/WHO permissible limits (0.1 mg kg for Pb and 0.05 mg kg -1 for Cd) in most of the vegetables indicating might pose higher risk. The highest Cr concentration was found in Assasuni, Satkhira and the lowest in Khulna and Jashore which were lower than the FAO/WHO permissible limits (2.30 mg kg ) except for a few vegetables in Satkhira that indicated Cr did pose a high risk. The highest Cu concentration was found in Kaliganj, Satkhira, and the lowest was found in Shyamnagar, Satkhira. The trend of Transfer Factor for heavy metals was in order: Cu>Cd>Pb>Cr. The highest Sediment Pollution Index value was found in Spinach (258.98) in Assasuni, Satkhira, and the lowest value was found in Kohlrabi in Dumuria, Khulna. The highest Metal Pollution Index 9.40 mg kg was found in Assasuni, Satkhira and the lowest 0.105 mg kg -1 was found in Dumuria, Khulna. The cumulative non-carcinogenic health risk associated with vegetable consumption were assigned to Assasuni > Kaliganj > Shyamnagar in Satkhira; Monirampur > Sorsha >Jikragacha in Jashore and Paikgacha > Koyra >Dumuria in Khulna. The cumulative cancer risk for multiple metals for Pb, Cd and Cr of all studied locations was higher than the unacceptable limit (>10 -4 ) which indicates heavy metals may pose a carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health hazard . So, steps were needed to alleviate heavy metal pollution in the vegetable fields to protect the consumer’s health.