Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 PhD Candidate, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
2 BSc., Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
4 BSc., Department of Public Health, School of Health, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Abstract
Background Vegetables are important components of a healthy and proper diet. The main route of entry of heavy metals into the body is through the foods, especially vegetables. Because the use of wastewater for irrigation has become a common practice, and the standards in this regard are not met, especially the products that are consumed raw materials like vegetables can threaten public health. Therefore, in this study, the concentrations of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic) in vegetables distributed in green groceries of Yazd City, Iran were measured.
Materials & Methods This research was a cross-sectional study. Over 2 months, 40 samples of vegetables (parsley, coriander, leek, and lettuce), (20 samples in each month) were randomly selected from Yazd greengroceries and prepared according to the standard method for determining the concentration of heavy metals by atomic absorption spectrometry. Data analysis was performed using SPSS and Excel. Finally, the obtained data were compared with the standards of the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization.
Results The average values of the studied heavy metals in vegetables were different. Parsley had the highest total concentration of heavy metals (518 mg/kg), and lettuce had the lowest total concentration of heavy metals (305 mg/kg).
Conclusion The concentration of heavy metals was more than WHO and FAO standards. Probably soil or water that is used for vegetable growth has a lot of heavy metals and is not standard for vegetable irrigation. Therefore, controlling policies from respective organizations are of necessity.
Keywords
Wilson T. Nutritional health strategies for disease prevention. Totowa, N.J.: Human Press; 2001. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-894-8
Mann J, Truswell AS. Essential of human nutrition. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2000.
Burchett H. Increasing fruit & vegetable consumption among British primary school children: a review. Health Education. 2003; 103(2):99-109. doi: 10.1108/09654280310467726
Alloway BJ. Heavy metal in soil. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.; 2001.
Flores L, Blas G, Hernandez G, Alcala R. Distribution and sequential extraction of some heavy metals from soil irrigated with wastewater from Mexico City. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. 1997; 98(1-2):105-17. doi: 10.1007/bf02128652
Merrington G, Alloway BJ. Determination of the residual metal binding characteristics of soil polluted by Cd and Pb. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. 1997; 100(1-2):49-62. doi: 10.1023/A:1018363812674
Pandey B, Suthar S, Singh V. Accumulation and health risk of heavy metals in sugarcane irrigated with industrial effluent in some rural areas of Uttarakhand, India. Process Safety and Environmental Protection. 2016; 102:655–66. doi: 10.1016/j.psep.2016.05.024
Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, et al. Accumulation of heavy metals and metalloid in foodstuffs from agricultural soils around Tarkwa area in Ghana, and associated human health risks. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2015; 12(8):8811-827. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120808811
Verma P, Agrawal M, Sagar R. Assessment of potential health risks due to heavy metals through vegetable consumption in a tropical area irrigated by treated wastewater. Environment Systems and Decisions. 2015; 35(3):375-88. doi: 10.1007/s10669-015-9558-1
Asadi M, Faezirazi D, Nabizadeh R. [Hazardous waste management (Persian)]. Tehran: Environmental Protection Agency Publication; 1993.
National Research Council. Subcommittee to update the arsenic in drinking water report. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 2001. doi: 10.17226/10194
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Summary and conclusions [Technical report]. 53rd meeting. Rome: Joint FAO/WHO; 1999.
Sharma RK, Agrawal M, Marshall FM. Heavy metals contamination in vegetables grown in wastewater irrigated areas of Varanasi, India. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 2006; 77(2):311-18. doi: 10.1007/s00128-006-1065-0
Singh S, Kumar M. Heavy metal load of soil, water and vegetable in peri-urban Delhi. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 2006; 120(1-3):79-91. doi: 10.1007/s10661-005-9050-3
Torabian A, Mahjori M. [Heavy metals uptake by vegetable crops irrigated with wastewater in South Tehran (Persian)]. Water and Soil Siences (Journal of Science and Technology of Agriculture and Natural Resources). 2003; 16(2):188-96.
Nabizadeh R, Faezi Razi D. [Drinking Water Quality Guidelines (Persian)]. Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Institute Publication NAS; 1996.
APHA, AWWA, WEF. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. 20th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Association; 1998.
Dreisbach RH. Handbook of Poisoning: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment. Los Altos, C.A.: Lange Medical; 1980.
Saeedi R. [Performance of brown algae Sargasum sp. dried to remove lead and cadmium from aqueous solution (Persian)] [PhD dissertation]. Tehran: Tehran University of Medical Sciences; 2005.
Nazemi S, Asgari A, Raei M. [Survey the amount of heavy metals in cultural vegetables in suburbs of Shahroud (Persian)]. Iranian Journal of Health and Environment. 2010; 3(2):195-202.
Rajesh Kumar S, Madhoolika A, Fiona MM. Heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) contamination of vegetables in urban India: A case study in Varanasi. Environment Pollution. 2008; 154(2):254-63. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2007.10.010
Bahemuka TE, Mubofu EB. Heavy metal in edible green vegetable grown along the sites of the Sinza andMismbazi rivers in Dares Salaam, Tanzania. Food Chemistry. 1999; 66(1):63-66. doi: 10.1016/s0308-8146(98)00213-1
Zurera G, Moreno R, Salmeron J, Pozo R. Heavy metal uptake from greenhouse border soils for ediblevegetable. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 1989; 49(3):307-14. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.2740490307
)