Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment of the health risk and geo-accumulation of toxic metals in agricultural soil and wheat, northern Iran

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current work was conducted to study the concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in farming soil and wheat and compute their geological and health indexes, including geo-accumulation index (Igeo), chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard index (HI), hazard quotient (HQ), and cancer risk (CR). In general, 256 samples were collected from agriculture soil (AS) and wheat in Kalaleh and Aq Qala areas, northern Iran. The average rates of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were detected to be 0.28, 25.24, 15.44, and 60.33 mg·kg−1, respectively, for AS and 0.01, 8.85, 0.73, and 33.81 mg·kg−1 for wheat, respectively. Based on the results, the HQ and HI levels for investigated HMs were lower than l. So, the health risk of HMs exposure for adults and children was low. CR levels for Pb in AS for both children and adults were observed greater than the threshold value. Accordingly, lead-contaminated soil will be carcinogenic if ingested by children. On the other hand, the exposure to Pb (through wheat) and Cd (through both soil and wheat) had the acceptable CR level for all groups. As a result, for an extended period, there are no significant health consequences for children and adults.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to ongoing research but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • Al-Othman, Z. A., Ali, R., Al-Othman, A. M., Ali, J., & Habila, M. A. (2016). Assessment of toxic metals in wheat crops grown on selected soils, irrigated by different water sources. Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 9, S1555–S1562.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alloway, B. J. (2012). Heavy metals in soils: Trace metals and metalloids in soils and their bioavailability (Vol. 22): Springer Science & Business Media

  • Briki, M., Zhu, Y., Gao, Y., Shao, M., Ding, H., & Ji, H. (2017). Distribution and health risk assessment to heavy metals near smelting and mining areas of Hezhang. China. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189(9), 458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Codex Alimentarius Commission. (1994). Position paper on cadmium. WHO food standards programme, ALINORM. (CX/FAC 95/19).

  • Darvishmotevalli, M., Moradnia, M., Noorisepehr, M., Fatehizadeh, A., Fadaei, S., Mohammadi, H., et al. (2019). Evaluation of carcinogenic risks related to nitrate exposure in drinking water in Iran. MethodsX, 6, 1716–1727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davodi, M., Alidadi, H., Ramezani, A., Jamali-Behnam, F., & Bonyadi, Z. (2019). Study of the removal efficiency of arsenic from aqueous solutions using Melia azedarach sawdust modified with FeO: Isotherm and kinetic studies. Desalination and Water Treatment, 137, 292–299.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dehghani, S., Moore, F., Keshavarzi, B., & Beverley, A. H. (2017). Health risk implications of potentially toxic metals in street dust and surface soil of Tehran. Iran. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 136, 92–103.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doabi, S. A., Afyuni, M., & Karami, M. (2017). Multivariate statistical analysis of heavy metals contamination in atmospheric dust of Kermanshah province, western Iran, during the spring and summer 2013. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 180, 61–70.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doabi, S. A., Karami, M., & Afyuni, M. (2019). Heavy metal pollution assessment in agricultural soils of Kermanshah province. Iran. Environmental Earth Sciences, 78(3), 70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doabi, S. A., Karami, M., Afyuni, M., & Yeganeh, M. (2018). Pollution and health risk assessment of heavy metals in agricultural soil, atmospheric dust and major food crops in Kermanshah province. Iran. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 163, 153–164.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fei, X., Lou, Z., Xiao, R., Ren, Z., & Lv, X. (2020). Contamination assessment and source apportionment of heavy metals in agricultural soil through the synthesis of PMF and GeogDetector models. Science of The Total Environment, 747, 141293.

  • Guangbin, Z., Kaifu, S., Xi, M., Qiong, H., Jing, M., Hua, G., et al. (2021). Nitrous oxide emissions, ammonia volatilization, and grain-heavy metal levels during the wheat season: Effect of partial organic substitution for chemical fertilizer. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 311, 107340.

  • Hossain Bhuiyan, M. A., Chandra Karmaker, S., Bodrud-Doza, M., Rakib, M. A., & Saha, B. B. (2021). Enrichment, sources and ecological risk mapping of heavy metals in agricultural soils of Dhaka district employing SOM, PMF and GIS methods. Chemosphere, 263, 128339.

  • Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran. (2013). Food & feed - maximum limit of heavy metals. (1st ed. ISIRI).

  • Kan, X., Dong, Y., Feng L., Zhou, M., & Hou, H. (2021) Contamination and health risk assessment of heavy metals in China’s lead–zinc mine tailings: A meta–analysis Chemosphere, 267, 128909.

  • Kaur, L., Rishi, M. S., & Siddiqui, A. U. (2020). Deterministic and probabilistic health risk assessment techniques to evaluate non-carcinogenic human health risk (NHHR) due to fluoride and nitrate in groundwater of Panipat, Haryana, India. Environmental Pollution, 259, 113711.

  • Keshavarzi, B., Tazarvi, Z., Rajabzadeh, M. A., & Najmeddin, A. (2015). Chemical speciation, human health risk assessment and pollution level of selected heavy metals in urban street dust of Shiraz. Iran. Atmospheric Environment, 119, 1–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y., Wang, S., Nan, Z., Zang, F., Sun, H., Zhang, Q., et al. (2019). Accumulation, fractionation and health risk assessment of fluoride and heavy metals in soil-crop systems in northwest China. Science of the Total Environment, 663, 307–314.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, R., Xu, Y.-N., Zhang, J.-H., Wang, W.-K., & Elwardany, R. M. (2020a). Effects of heavy metal pollution on farmland soils and crops: A case study of the Xiaoqinling Gold Belt, China. China Geology, 3, 402–410.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y.-M., Liu, D.-Y., Zhang, W., Chen, X.-X., Zhao, Q.-Y., & Chen, X.-P., et al. (2020b). Health risk assessment of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, As and Cr) in wheat grain receiving repeated Zn fertilizers. Environmental Pollution, 257, 113581.

  • Lu, A., Wang, J., Qin, X., Wang, K., Han, P., & Zhang, S. (2012). Multivariate and geostatistical analyses of the spatial distribution and origin of heavy metals in the agricultural soils in Shunyi, Beijing, China. Science of the Total Environment, 425, 66–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mazloomi, S., Zarei, A., Alasvand, S., Farhadi, A., Nourmoradi, H., & Bonyadi, Z. (2019). Analysis of quality and quantity of health-care wastes in clinical laboratories: A case study of Ilam city. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191(4), 207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzaei, R., Ghorbani, H., Moghaddas, N. H., & Martín, J. A. R. (2014). Ecological risk of heavy metal hotspots in topsoils in the Province of Golestan. Iran. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 147, 268–276.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammadi, A. A., Zarei, A., Esmaeilzadeh, M., Taghavi, M., Yousefi, M., & Yousefi, Z., et al. (2019). Assessment of heavy metal pollution and human health risks assessment in soils around an industrial zone in Neyshabur, Iran. Biological trace element research, 1–10.

  • Mohebbrad, B., Bonyadi, Z., Dehghan, A. A., & Rahmat, M. H. (2019). Arsenic removal from aqueous solutions using Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Kinetic and equilibrium study. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 38(s1), S398–S402.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muller, G. (1969). Index of geoaccumulation in sediments of the Rhine River. GeoJournal, 2, 108–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nezhad, M. T. K., Tabatabaii, S. M., & Gholami, A. (2015). Geochemical assessment of steel smelter-impacted urban soils, Ahvaz. Iran. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 152, 91–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qing, X., Yutong, Z., & Shenggao, L. (2015). Assessment of heavy metal pollution and human health risk in urban soils of steel industrial city (Anshan), Liaoning, Northeast China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 120, 377–385.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roshandel, G., Ferlay, J., Semnani, S., Fazel, A., Naeimi-Tabiei, M., & Ashaari, M., et al. (2020). Recent cancer incidence trends and short-term predictions in Golestan, Iran 2004–2025. Cancer epidemiology, 67, 101728.

  • Setia, R., Dhaliwal, S. S., Singh, R., Kumar, V., Taneja, S., Kukal, S. S., & Pateriya, B. (2021). Phytoavailability and human risk assessment of heavy metals in soils and food crops around Sutlej river, India. Chemosphere, 263, 128321.

  • Setia, R., Dhaliwal, S. S., Singh, R., Kumar, V., Taneja, S., Kukal, S. S., et al. (2020). Phytoavailability and human risk assessment of heavy metals in soils and food crops around Sutlej River, India. Chemosphere, 128321.

  • Soltani, N., Keshavarzi, B., Moore, F., Tavakol, T., Lahijanzadeh, A. R., Jaafarzadeh, N., et al. (2015). Ecological and human health hazards of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in road dust of Isfahan metropolis. Iran. Science of the Total Environment, 505, 712–723.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Toolabi, A., Bonyadi, Z., Paydar, M., Najafpoor, A. A., & Ramavandi, B. (2020). Spatial distribution, occurrence, and health risk assessment of nitrate, fluoride, and arsenic in Bam groundwater resource (p. 100543). Groundwater for Sustainable Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C., Jin, H., Zhong, C., Wang, J., Sun, M., & Xie, M. (2020). Estimating the contribution of atmosphere on heavy metals accumulation in the aboveground wheat tissues induced by anthropogenic forcing. Environmental research, 189, 109955.

  • Wei, X., Gao, B., Wang, P., Zhou, H., & Lu, J. (2015). Pollution characteristics and health risk assessment of heavy metals in street dusts from different functional areas in Beijing, China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 112, 186–192.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S., He, M., Zhi, Y., Chang, S. X., Gu, B., Liu, X., et al. (2019). An integrated analysis on source-exposure risk of heavy metals in agricultural soils near intense electronic waste recycling activities. Environment international, 133, 105239.

  • Zafarzadeh, A., Bonyadi, Z., & Feyzi, K. (2020). Health risk assessment related to cadmium in dairy products in Gorgan, Iran. International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 1–9.

  • Zafarzadeh, A., Rahimzadeh, H., & Mahvi, A. H. (2018). Health risk assessment of heavy metals in vegetables in an endemic esophageal cancer region in Iran. Health Scope, 7(3).

  • Zhang, Y., Li, H., Yin, J., & Zhu, L. (2020). Risk assessment for sediment associated heavy metals using sediment quality guidelines modified by sediment properties. Environmental Pollution, 115844.

  • Zhang, Y., Xu, B., Guo, Z., Han, J., Li, H., & Jin, L., et al. (2019). Human health risk assessment of groundwater arsenic contamination in Jinghui irrigation district, China. Journal of Environmental Management, 237, 163–169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, N., Liu, J., Wang, Q., & Liang, Z. (2010). Health risk assessment of heavy metal exposure to street dust in the zinc smelting district, Northeast of China. Science of the Total Environment, 408(4), 726–733.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, S., Wang, Q., Yuan, Y., & Sun, W. (2020). Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in soil and food crops in the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration of China. Food Chemistry, 316, 126213.

  • Zhou, H. (2015). Soil heavy metal pollution evaluation around mine area with traditional and ecological assessment methods. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 3(10), 28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Y., Jia, Z., Wang, J., Chen, L., Zou, M., Li, Y., & Zhou, S. (2019). Heavy metal distribution, relationship and prediction in a wheat-rice rotation system. Geoderma, 354, 113886.

Download references

Funding

The authors would like to thank the financial support provided by the Golestan University of Medical Science, Iran (Grant number # 64200) to conduct this investigation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Health Research Center, Faculty of Health, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan, Iran

    Ali Zafarzadeh

  2. Environmental Health Engineering Department, Faculty of Health, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan, Iran

    Ali Zafarzadeh, Jomeh Mohammad Taghani & Mohammad Amin Toomaj

  3. School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

    Mohammad Amin Toomaj

  4. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

    Bahman Ramavandi

  5. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Ziaeddin Bonyadi

  6. Environmental Health Engineering Department, Faculty of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Ziaeddin Bonyadi

  7. Environmental Engineering and Management Research Group, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Mika Sillanpää

  8. Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Mika Sillanpää

Authors
  1. Ali Zafarzadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jomeh Mohammad Taghani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mohammad Amin Toomaj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bahman Ramavandi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ziaeddin Bonyadi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mika Sillanpää
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Bahman Ramavandi, Ziaeddin Bonyadi or Mika Sillanpää.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zafarzadeh, A., Taghani, J.M., Toomaj, M.A. et al. Assessment of the health risk and geo-accumulation of toxic metals in agricultural soil and wheat, northern Iran. Environ Monit Assess 193, 750 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09530-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09530-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation