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The non-biodegradable and persistent nature of heavy metals results in their accumulation in human body and destruction of vital organs such as kidney, bones and liver (1). Accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils may not only result in soil contamination but also the subsequent transfer of these elements to food crops (2). One of the main food items in many countries around the world are cereals such as wheat, rice, barley, rye, corn etc. Among them, wheat and rice accounts for 4/5 parts of the total food consumption of the world's population (3). Total consumption of wheat in Iran has risen from 15.8 MT in 2010 to 17.5MT in 2015 (4). Iran is the ninth largest consumer of wheat in the world and wheat bread is a staple in the Iranian diet. Due to the high tolerance of wheat and barley against elevated levels of heavy metals in the soil, they have been proposed for the phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils in earlier researches (5); however, this accumulation can pose a high risk to consumers as well. Since, wheat and barley are considered as staple products so; the health risk associated with their consumption has a great importance in view of A-R-T-I-C-L-EI-N-F-O A-B-S-T-R-A-C-T Article Notes: Received: Nov 11, 2016 Received in revised form: Apr 18, 2017 Accepted: Jun 29, 2017 Available Online: Jul 21, 2017 Background & Aims of the Study: The main objectives of the current research were (1) to study the extent of soil pollution by heavy metals (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Ba and Li) in sampling locations (2) to investigate the extent of heavy metal pollution and soil to plant transfer of these elements in wheat and barley (3) to study the health risk of heavy metals via consumption of wheat grains for adults and children. Materials &Methods: The levels of heavy metals in 29 sampling locations in soil and different parts of wheat and grains of barley were quantified in Shahrood and Damghan of Iran by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Different statistical methods including ANOVA were used for the comparison of heavy metals in different soil groups and plant's tissues. Results: All of the bio concentration factors (BFs) were lower than one indicating the low level of accumulation in wheat and barley. The BFs were higher in aerial parts than that of grains showing the restricted translocation of these elements by wheat and barley. The highest accumulation was obtained for Zn, Ag and Cu. Conclusions: Considering Hazard Quotients (HQs), there was not any detrimental effect due to the consumption of wheat grains in the study area. The HQs of all heavy metals for adults were higher than that of children. The highest and lowest HQs values were for Mn and Cr in both age groups, respectively. The Hazard Index (HI) associated with wheat grains for children and adults were 1.36 and 2.06, respectively which is indicated the adverse health effects due to the consumption of this staple crop.

Concentration of Heavy Metals in Soil and Staple Crops and the Associated Health Risk