ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL CONTENTS IN VEGETABLES GROWN IN THE VICINITY OF SIRSA AND THEIR EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTHSANGEETA SHARMA, DAVENDER KUMAR AND JITENDER PALAbstract The present study was conducted to find the effect of Sewage/Groundwater irrigation on the accumulated concentration of heavy metal contents around the Sirsa city. Two separate fields were selected for each vegetable crop and separately irrigated by sewage water and tube well water. Evaluation of six heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cu) in six vegetables (Radish, Carrot, Turnip, Onion, Potato, Garlic) and soil of agricultural fields of Kelnian and Kherekan was conducted. A higher concentration of metals were found in order of Zn>Pb>Cu>Ni>Cr>Cd in soil irrigated with sewage wastewater. Heavy metal concentration of soil resulting from wastewater irrigation is a cause of serious concern due to the potential health impacts of consuming contaminated produce. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in food chain can be highly dangerous to human health as reported in many countries. Concentration and daily intake of heavy metals in vegetables are investigated and their potential health risk for local consumers is evaluated by calculating hazard quotient (HQ). The results showed higher value of HQ for Pb and Cd which are above the threshold 1.0, causing adverse effect on human health. Therefore, attention should be paid particularly to the potential hazardous exposure to heavy metals present in vegetables, especially for Pb and Cd, over a lifetime for people in the vicinity of Sirsa.
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