Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Wheat Farms in the Northern Regions of Ahvaz

Abstract

Background: Wheat as one of the agricultural products cultivated in many parts of the world is an essential component of our diet in the world. This study aimed to evaluate heavy metals in wheat farms in the north of Ahvaz.Methods: This research was conducted in two areas of Weiss and Arab Assad located in the north of Ahvaz City. Twelve samples of wheat plants in each area were randomly selected from all the farms during harvesting. Chemical digestion was performed by a wet method, and heavy metals were measured by ICP model Varian 710-ES.Results: The highest volume of heavy metals in Weiss and Arab Assad regions were 58.17 and 58.42 mg/Kg, respectively. Among the heavy metals, the lowest concentration was related to chromium which was equal to 1.07 and 1.14 mg/Kg in Weiss and Arab Assad farms, respectively. The highest hazard quotient (HQ) of heavy metals in children was related to manganese metal (13.51). The lowest value of heavy metal’s HQ in the people was obtained in cobalt (0.21).Conclusion: According to the results, because of the manganese metal, it seems that wheat consumption is dangerous for health in different age groups. In general, the results of health risk assessment of heavy metal in wheat showed that the consumption of this product can have an acute adverse impact on human health.

Keywords

• health risk assessment
• heavy metals
• wheat
• heavy metal pollution
• metal toxicity