Abstract:
The current study was carried out to investigate the heavy metal content of Pb, Cr, Hg,
As and Cd in wheat samples irrigated with industrial effluent, tubewell and canal water of
Gujranwala, Pakistan and associated human health risk. From different agricultural fields of
Gujranwala, a total 45 samples of wheat were randomly collected. Out of those 45 samples, 8
samples were collected from sites irrigated with industrial effluent, 16 samples collected were
irrigated with canal water and 21 samples collected that were irrigated with tubewell water.
According to the results obtained from current study, concentration of heavy metals in wheat
samples were estimated in order to calculate non-carcinogenic (HQ) and carcinogenic risks
(CR) of the heavy metals for adults and children following the risk assessment modals proposed
by the US-EPA. High concentration of heavy metals i.e. Pb, Cr, Cd and Hg were found in
wheat samples irrigated with industrial effluent than canal and tubewell water whereas, Arsenic
shows high concentration in samples of wheat that were irrigated with tubewell water than
industrial effluent and canal water. The translocation factor in wheat irrigated with industrial
effluent, canal, and tubewell showed general trend as Pb > Hg >Cd > Cr >As. DIE values
calculated for all studied metals revealed that Pb, Cr and Cd have high DIE in wheat consumed
irrigated with industrial effluent in adults whereas in children, Pb show highest DIE value. HQ
estimated for non-carcinogenic risk was found to be higher for Hg and Cd as compared to Pb,
As and Cr. Whereas, the carcinogenic risk for adults and children in wheat are with safe limit
(1E-06 to 1E-04) of US-EPA (2011). However, if heavy metals contaminated food is
continuously consumed may result into potential buildup of harmful and various disorders in
humans. Therefore, long-term monitoring and more studies are obligatory to keep check and
balance for the safety of humans under such conditions.
