IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i20p4053-d279156.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Potentially Harmful Element Concentrations in the Vegetables Cultivated on Arable Soils, with Human Health-Risk Implications

Author

Listed:
  • Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska

    (AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, Department of Environmental Protection, Al. Mickiewicza 30, Kraków 30-059, Poland)

Abstract

Potentially harmful elements (PHEs) were investigated in eight groups of vegetables cultivated in southern Poland and the relevant health-risk implications were assessed. The PHE contents belonged to the following ranges (mg/kg wet weight) in edible parts: As < limit of detection (LOD)-0.056, Cd < LOD–0.375, Co < LOD–0.029, Cu < LOD–7.638, Hg < LOD–0.163, Ni < LOD–0.299, Pb < LOD–0.580, Sb < LOD–0.163, Tl < LOD–0.128, and Zn 1.23–34.9. The PHE concentrations decreased in the following order: Zn > Cu > Ni > Cd > Pb > Sb > Hg > Tl > As > Co. The concentrations of essential PHEs decreased as follows: root > leaf > seed > tuber > legume > inflorescence > shoot > fruit, while the unnecessary PHEs followed this sequence: leaf > root > tuber > legume > inflorescence > seed > shoot > fruit. Soil-to-plant transfer factors revealed capacities to adsorb Cd, Hg, and Tl in roots; Cd, Hg, Tl, and Zn in leaves; Cd, Hg, and Sb in tubers; and Cu, Sb, and Zn in legumes and seeds. The daily intake rates, as a percentage of permissible maximum tolerable daily intake, amounted to the following proportions: Cd 23%, Tl 13%, Hg 5.0%, Ni 3.1%, Pb 2.6%, and As 0.4%. Non-carcinogenic risk described as hazard quotient (HQ) was exceeded in root (HQ = 12.1), leafy (HQ = 2.1), and tuber (HQ = 1.4) vegetables. The carcinogenic risk of As (CR = 8.54 × 10 −5 ) was found unacceptable. The margins of exposure for adults (MOE = 3.1) and children (MOE = 1.6), respectively, indicated a low health risk of Pb in consumed vegetables.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, 2019. "Potentially Harmful Element Concentrations in the Vegetables Cultivated on Arable Soils, with Human Health-Risk Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-25, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:4053-:d:279156
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/20/4053/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/20/4053/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Man Wang & Boheng Liang & Weiwei Zhang & Kuncai Chen & Yuhua Zhang & Hongwei Zhou & Yanfang Cheng & Huachun Liu & Xianwu Zhong & Yingyue Li & Yufei Liu, 2019. "Dietary Lead Exposure and Associated Health Risks in Guangzhou, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, 2020. "Human Health Risk Assessment and Potentially Harmful Element Contents in the Cereals Cultivated on Agricultural Soils," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, 2019. "Human Health Risk Assessment and Potentially Harmful Element Contents in the Fruits Cultivated in the Southern Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-24, December.
    3. Marioara Nicoleta Filimon & Ion Valeriu Caraba & Roxana Popescu & Gabi Dumitrescu & Doina Verdes & Liliana Petculescu Ciochina & Adrian Sinitean, 2021. "Potential Ecological and Human Health Risks of Heavy Metals in Soils in Selected Copper Mining Areas—A Case Study: The Bor Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Golden Zyambo & John Yabe & Kaampwe Muzandu & Ethel M’kandawire & Kennedy Choongo & Andrew Kataba & Kenneth Chawinga & Allan Liazambi & Shouta M. M Nakayama & Hokuto Nakata & Mayumi Ishizuka, 2022. "Human Health Risk Assessment from Lead Exposure through Consumption of Raw Cow Milk from Free-Range Cattle Reared in the Vicinity of a Lead–Zinc Mine in Kabwe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, 2020. "Human Health Risk Assessment and Potentially Harmful Element Contents in the Cereals Cultivated on Agricultural Soils," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, 2019. "Human Health Risk Assessment and Potentially Harmful Element Contents in the Fruits Cultivated in the Southern Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-24, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:4053-:d:279156. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.