METAL ENRICHMENT IN WHEAT IRRIGATED WITH INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT, CANAL AND TUBEWELL WATER OF GUJRANWALA, PAKISTAN

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.