Potential Health Risks Associated with the Heavy Metal Content in Commonly Consumed Food from Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The present study investigated the heavy metal (HM) accumulation in some food items and associated potential human health risk in the Prakasam district. Food samples were collected from 9 villages of different mandals mainly comprising of rice, wheat, green gram, red gram, black gram, potato, and amaranthus. The HMs chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICPMS). The results showed that the HM concentrations in vegetables were higher than the cereals and pulses. The decreasing order of HM concentrations were observed as Cr > As > Pb > Cd > Hg, Cr > Pb > As = Cd > Hg and Cr > Pb > Cd > As > Hg in cereals, pulses, and vegetables, respectively. The dietary intake of cereals and vegetables contributed more exposure to HMs. The hazard index (HI) in case of cereals (3.648) and vegetables (1.003) exceeded 1 indicating the non-carcinogenic risk when these food items are consumed by adults. The HI in case of cereals (7.106) and vegetables (1.747) exceeded 1 indicating the health risks when these food items were consumed by children. The HI for cereals and vegetables in case of children is almost double to the HI of adults. The lifetime cancer risk was observed for Cr via consumption of rice and amaranthus, both in adults and children. In conclusion, health risk due to consumption of cereals and vegetables revealed both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk for adults and children. The findings of the present study can be used for the development of potential strategies for risk control and management.

Health risk assessment of heavy metals and strontium in groundwater used for drinking and cooking in 58 villages of Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Groundwater is one of the most important sources of water for drinking and cooking in rural India. A total of 382 groundwater samples were collected from 58 villages and analyzed for HMs and Sr by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The average concentrations of HMs and Sr in water was in the order of strontium (Sr) > arsenic (As) > chromium (Cr) > lead (Pb) > mercury (Hg) > cadmium (Cd). Out of 58 villages, 21, 37, 35, 35, 35 and 39 villages had Cr, As, Cd, Hg, Pb and Sr higher (WHO limit) than their respectively permissible levels. Health risk assessment of HMs and Sr for humans revealed that the non-carcinogenicity hazard quotients (HQi+d) for HMs and Sr were higher than unity for adult and children. The hazard index (HI) was 531.066 for adult and 902.926 for children. The HI > 1 was observed in 45 villages for adults and 56 villages for children. The lifetime cancer risk in adult for Asi, Asd, and Pbi in 36, 25 and 23 villages, whereas in children was 42, 20 and 22 villages, respectively. In conclusion, the health risks arising from consumption of groundwater containing HMs and Sr indicated that there is a significant carcinogenic risks for adult and children. This is the first attempt to provide information on the health risks of Sr in drinking water in India. The present findings can be useful for the development of potential strategies for risk control and management.