Cadmium and lead accumulation in important food crops due to wastewater irrigation: Pollution index and health risks assessment.

ABSTRACT: The contamination of farm soils with heavy metals (HMs) has raised significant concerns due to the increased bioavailability and accumulation of HMs in agricultural food crops. To address this issue, a survey experiment was conducted in the suburbs of Multan and Faisalabad to investigate the spatial distribution, bioaccumulation, translocation, and health risks of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in agricultural crops. The results show a considerable concentration of Cd and Pb in soils irrigated with wastewater, even though these levels were below the permissible limits in water and soil matrices. The pollution index for Cd was mostly greater than 1 at the selected sites, indicating its accumulation in soil over time due to wastewater irrigation. Conversely, the pollution index for Pb was below

SUBMITTER: Alhaj Hamoud Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10838743 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature