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. 2023 Mar 20;13(1):4556.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31681-x.

Ecological risk assessment of trace elements (TEs) pollution and human health risk exposure in agricultural soils used for saffron cultivation

Mahmoud Taghavi  1 , Mostafa Darvishiyan  2 , Maryam Momeni  2 , Hadi Eslami  3 , Reza Ali Fallahzadeh  4 , Ahmad Zarei  5
Affiliations

Ecological risk assessment of trace elements (TEs) pollution and human health risk exposure in agricultural soils used for saffron cultivation

Mahmoud Taghavi et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Contamination of farmland soils by trace elements (TEs) has become an international issue concerning food safety and human health risks. In the present research, the concentrations of TEs including cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) in soils of 16 farmlands were determined in Gonabad, Iran. In addition, the human health risks due to exposure to the TEs from the soils were assessed. Moreover, the soil contamination likelihood was evaluated based on various contamination indices including contamination factor [Formula: see text]), enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), and pollution load index (PLI) calculations. The soil mean concentrations for Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn and Fe ranges as 0.102, 6.968, 22.550, 29.263, 475.281, 34.234, 13.617, 54.482 and 19,683.6 mg/kg in farmland soils. The mean concentrations of the TEs decreased in the order of Fe > Mn > Zn > Ni > Cu > Cr > Pb > Co > As > Cd. Levels of all metals in this study were within the FAO/WHO and Iranian soil standards. The HQ values from investigated elements for adults and children in the studied farms were less than the limit of 1, indicating no health risks for the studied subpopulations. The results of the present research indicated no significant carcinogenic health hazards for both adults and children through ingestion, skin contact and inhalation exposure routes. [Formula: see text] values of Ni and Zn in 100% and 6.25% of farmlands were above 1, showing moderate contamination conditions. EF values of metals in farmlands were recorded as "no enrichment", "minimal enrichment" and "moderate enrichment" classes. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the all farms were uncontaminated except Ni (moderately contaminated) based on Igeo. This is an indication that the selected TEs in the agricultural soils have no appreciable threat to human health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The locations of the farms where soil was sampled in Gonabad.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Contribution of different elements to HI for (A) adults and, (B) children.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Box plots of CF values for TEs in the soils of farms.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Box plots of EF values for TEs in the soils of farms.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Box plots of Igeo values for TEs in the soils of farms.
Figure 6
Figure 6
PLI values for TEs in the soils of farms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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