Background & Aims of the Study: The last 25 years have seen a remarkable increase in public concern about food contamination. Food and water are the main sources of our essential metals.These are also the media through which we are exposed to various toxic metalsAs such, this study aimed to assess the risks arising from the use of greenhouse vegetables, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers in Hamadan Province.
Materials & Methods: Soil and plant samples were digested using wet digestion method (HClO4/HNO3, 2:1) ratio solution, and the concentrations of total As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AE).
Results: High concentrations of elements As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were found in vegetables sampled from overused phosphate fertilized soils, which increased the daily intake of metals in food. The Health risk assessment values of all tested vegetables (pepper, cucumber and tomato) were below 1 in As and Cd. The health risk index (HRI) value above 1 indicated a relative health risk through the ingestion of contaminated vegetables.
Conclusions: Heavy metal concentrations should be periodically monitored in vegetables grown in contaminated soils. This study found that long-term fertilizer use led to a growing accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in soils. It would also be beneficial to implement effective remediation technologies to minimize possible impacts on human health
