Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination in Soil and Two Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Varieties Irrigated with Paper Mill Effluent

Arwa A. AL-Huqail, Pankaj Kumar (), Ebrahem M. Eid, Bashir Adelodun, Sami Abou Fayssal, Jogendra Singh, Ashish Kumar Arya, Madhumita Goala, Vinod Kumar and Ivan Širić ()
Additional contact information
Arwa A. AL-Huqail: Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Pankaj Kumar: Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri (Deemed to Be University), Haridwar 249404, Uttarakhand, India
Ebrahem M. Eid: Biology Department, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Bashir Adelodun: Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin PMB 1515, Nigeria
Sami Abou Fayssal: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Forestry, 10 Kliment Ohridski Blvd, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria
Jogendra Singh: Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri (Deemed to Be University), Haridwar 249404, Uttarakhand, India
Ashish Kumar Arya: Department of Environmental Science, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248002, Uttarakhand, India
Madhumita Goala: Nehru College, Pailapool, Affiliated Assam University, Silchar 788098, Assam, India
Vinod Kumar: Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri (Deemed to Be University), Haridwar 249404, Uttarakhand, India
Ivan Širić: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Svetosimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Heavy metal pollution from industrial wastewaters has become an issue of global concern. These wastewaters are frequently used for inland irrigation which possess a serious risk of heavy metal contamination of both soil and cultivated crops. The problem is more common in developing countries like India where industrial wastewaters are often discharged without appropriate treatments. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the impact of paper mill effluent for irrigation on the growth, productivity, and heavy metal accumulation potential of two rice ( Oryza sativa L.) varieties (PB-1121 and PR-121). Water, soil, and rice crop samples were obtained from the vicinity of Saharanpur city, Uttar Pradesh, India, and subsequently analyzed for selected physicochemical and heavy metal parameters. Results showed that paper mill effluent and nearby Kali River water had significant ( p < 0.05) loads of pollutants that impacted the soil properties. Moreover, the maximum plant height (123.48 ± 4.86 and 98.83 ± 2.02 cm); total chlorophyll (6.70 ± 0.25 and 6.64 ± 0.17 mg/g); leaf carotenoids (0.67 ± 0.08 and 0.63 ± 0.05 mg/g); starch content (71.08 ± 2.05 and 72.60 ± 1.63%); amylose content (25.10 ± 1.32 and 20.28 ± 1.24%); crop yield (4270.20 ± 75.12 and 5830.58 ± 63.10 kg/ha); and straw yield (5472.05 ± 93.90 and 6683.76 ± 61.26 kg/ha) of PB-1121 and PR-121, respectively, were observed using Kali River water irrigation source as compared to paper mill effluent and borewell water. The order of heavy metal accumulation in rice straw and grain followed: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr > Cd. Similarly, the bioaccumulation factors for heavy metals in rice straw and grain were observed as >1 and <1, respectively. Moreover, the target hazard quotient (THQ) showed that there was no potential health risk of heavy metal in rice irrigated with contaminated water supply except for the PR-121 variety irrigated with Kali River water where the health risk index (HRI) value exceeded the limit (>1). As a result, the findings of this study provide useful information about the current state of heavy metal pollution and the health risks associated with rice crops irrigated with contaminated water sources.

Keywords: crop contamination; health risks; heavy metals; industrial pollution; wastewater irrigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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