Open AccessAccumulation of heavy metals in agricultural products irrigated with treated municipal wastewater
Author(s) -
Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi,
Hossein Movahedian Attar,
Bijan Bina
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of environmental health engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2277-9183
DOI - 10.4103/2277-9183.110128
Subject(s) - effluent , wastewater , atomic absorption spectroscopy , soil water , chemistry , environmental science , soil test , heavy metals , environmental chemistry , sewage treatment , agriculture , agronomy , environmental engineering , biology , soil science , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics
Aims : The aim of this study was to measure the concentration of Pb, Cd, and Ni in the effluent of Isfahan north wastewater treatment plant as well as in the soils and agricultural products irrigated with that effluent.Material and Methods: In the selected area around of the treatment plant, treated wastewater, soil, wheat, wheat stem, and corn were sampled. The samples were digested with nitric acid procedure and analyzed with a flameless atomic absorption spectrometer.Results: The results shows the average concentration of Pb, Cd, and Ni was 0.02, 0.006, and 0.062 mg/1 in the effluent; 13.9, 1.67, and 2.23 μg/g in the deep soil; 0.366, 1.02, and 0.79 μg/g in the wheat; 0.67, 0.86, and 1.32 μg/g in the wheat stem; and 6.37, 0.62, and 0.52 μg/g in the corn, respectively.Conclusion: The average concentration of Pb, Cd, and Ni were less than the critical limits in the effluent (0.01, 0.2, and 5 mg/1) and the amounts were currently within the permitted range for soil (2-100, 10-1000, and 10-7 mg/g). In some farming lands, the amounts were beyond the permitted range for plants (1-10, 1-10, and 0.2-0.8 mg/g). There was a meaningful relationship between the average concentration of these metals and the kind of sample. In addition, the accumulation of heavy metals in all samples irrigated with wastewater was more compared to samples irrigated with groundwater. So irrigation of farmland with effluent should be monitored. Farmers in the area must be advised to grow shrubs with smaller roots rather than big-rooted plants like sugar beet