Health Risk Assessment, Pore Water Chemistry, and Assessment of Trace Metals Transfer from Two Untreated Sewage Sludge Types to Tomato Crop ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) at Different Application Levels

Ghulam Murtaza, Umair Riaz, Humera Aziz, Nabila Shaheen, Muhammad Irfan Sohail, Muhammad Hamzah Saleem, Muyassar H. Abualreesh, Aishah Alatawi and Shafaqat Ali
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Ghulam Murtaza: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Umair Riaz: Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Humera Aziz: Department of Environmental Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Nabila Shaheen: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Muhammad Irfan Sohail: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Muhammad Hamzah Saleem: College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Muyassar H. Abualreesh: Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdualaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Aishah Alatawi: Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Tabuk University, Tabuk 71421, Saudi Arabia
Shafaqat Ali: Department of Environmental Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: The application of untreated sewage sludge to cropland in water-deficient areas is common practice. A study was conducted to investigate the transfer of trace elements from sewage sludge to tomato crop and the potential health risk to humans. Two types of sewage sludge, ISS (I-9 Sector wastewater treatment plant, Islamabad) and WSS (Water and Sanitation Authority wastewater treatment plant, Faisalabad), were applied at 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% w / w and compared with control (without any amendment). The test crop was tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum ). Results revealed that the EC e of soil was increased by these treatments with respect to all application levels. The levels of Pb (lead) and Zn (Zinc) solubility in soil were increased about 46- and 28-fold by the application of ISS at 1.5% and 16- and 22-fold by the application of WSS at 1.5%, respectively. The highest shoot biomass was recorded with 0.5% level of WSS, while higher rates (1.0% and 1.5%) of both ISS and WSS showed significant ( p < 0.001) decline in shoot biomass production, and the lowest SFW was recorded with the addition of ISS at 1.5% application rate (a significant reduction of 44%) compared to control. The pore water analysis and correlation depicted that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) controlled the release of Zn and Pb. The PLI (value < 1) indicated that the overall pollution of trace metals in the investigated samples was absent, but the I geo and CF showed the contamination potential for Cd, Cu, and Ni was moderate to strong. DIM and HRI analysis suggested that the tomato was safe for human consumption. The HRI values for all trace metals were below the permissible limit (HRI = 1) described by USEPA-IRIS. It was concluded that a lower rate of both sewage sludge types produces more biomass and less accumulation of trace metals in the test crop.

Keywords: tomato; sewage sludge; trace elements; dissolved organic carbon; health risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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