Human Health Risk Assessment from the Consumption of Vegetables Grown near a Copper Smelter in Central Chile
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Human Health Risk Assessment from the Consumption of Vegetables Grown near a Copper Smelter in Central Chile Nilo Lizardi 1 & Marcelo Aguilar 1 & Manuel Bravo 2 & Tatyana A. Fedorova 3 & Alexander Neaman 3 Received: 5 December 2019 / Accepted: 10 March 2020 # Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo 2020
Abstract The intake of trace elements (TEs) through the consumption of vegetables is a subject of great concern. This study intends to evaluate human health risks associated with consumption of vegetables grown near the Ventanas copper smelter (Valparaiso region, Central Chile). Experimental plots were established in the proximity of the smelter and in a control area. Leafy vegetables (lettuce, chard, and cabbage) and root vegetables (potato, carrot, and beetroot) were grown on the experimental plots. Daily intake of elements was estimated based on consumption habits. A hazard quotient (HQ) was calculated as a ratio between the daily intake and the reference dose that represents the maximum safe TE intake. Generally, concentrations of TEs in the edible tissues of vegetables were higher in the exposure area than in the control area. The most significant difference was for leafy vegetables, with arsenic (As) being the main TE of concern. Lettuce was also the vegetable of concern due to its relatively high consumption rate and a relatively high concentration of TEs in the plant tissue. In this study, we obtained an HQ value of ~ 0.6 for inorganic As considering vegetable consumption pathway, for the age group of 1–5 years old. Likewise, our previous study reported a similar HQ value of ~ 0.6 for inorganic As considering incidental soil and dust ingestion pathway, for the same age group. Importantly, HQ value surpasses 1.0 for inorganic As considering both exposure pathways. Thus, there is a health risk associated with soil As for inhabitants of Puchuncavi Valley. Keywords Hazard quotient . Puchuncavi Valley . Chronic daily intake . Exposure assessment
1 Introduction In recent decades, soil pollution by trace elements (TEs) has become a serious threat to human health (Antoniadis et al. 2019). In particular, the long-term deposition of airborne pollutants from non-ferrous smelters can cause soil pollution by TEs (Ettler 2016). Polluted soil, in turn, may contribute to human exposure to TEs through incidental soil ingestion by hand-to-mouth transmission and consumption of crops that take up TEs from the soil (Plumlee and Morman 2011). Indeed, many studies emphasized the importance of incidental * Alexander Neaman [email protected] 1
Escuela de Agronomía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Quillota, Chile
2
Instituto de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
3
Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems, RUDN University, Moscow, Russia
soil ingestion as an exposure pathway to TEs (Berny et al. 1994; Carrizales et al. 2006; Hogervorst et al. 2007; Mielke and Reagan 1998; Polissar et al. 1990). Likewise, several studies highlighted
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