Biomonitoring of Heavy Metal and Metalloid Contamination in Industrial Wastewater Irrigated Areas Using Sugar Beet ( Brassica oleracea L.)

Ilker Ugulu (), Shehnaz Bibi, Zafar Iqbal Khan, Kafeel Ahmad, Mudasra Munir, Ifra Saleem Malik, Abid Ejaz and Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei
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Ilker Ugulu: Faculty of Education, Usak University, Usak 64000, Turkey
Shehnaz Bibi: Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Zafar Iqbal Khan: Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Kafeel Ahmad: Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Mudasra Munir: Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Ifra Saleem Malik: Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Abid Ejaz: Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei: Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: In Pakistan, wastewater such as industrial and urban wastewater is widely used for agricultural irrigation despite its chemical and pollutant content. In this respect, it is important to determine the risks of heavy metal accumulation in various agricultural products and the risks to human health. The aims of this study were to assess the heavy metal(loid)s contamination in soil and sugar beet samples and to assess the health risks of heavy metal(loid)s to the population via the consumption of sugar beet. The heavy metal(loid) values in the wastewater-irrigated soil samples ranged from 0.260 to 4.053 mg/kg, and wastewater-irrigated sugar beet samples ranged from 0.051 to 1.666 mg/kg. In contrast to Cd, Ni, Cu, Fe, Mn, Cr and Zn, which appeared to pose a health risk, Pb, Co, and Cr had Health Risk Index (HRI) values lower than 1.0 and did not appear to pose a threat to human health. Cd accumulation with HRI values over 1 (144.8) indicated that this metal is likely to have a major negative impact on local health.

Keywords: biomonitoring; health risk; trace metal; vegetable (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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