From soil to health hazards: Heavy metals contamination in northern India and health risk assessment.

Heavy metals contamination in soil is a global concern affecting the environment with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and the health of human beings. Heavy metals contamination of soil entails a significant threat to the environment and human health. This research paper focuses on the quantification of heavy metals contamination in soil in Kanpur district, a highly industrialized and densely populated region in India. The study was aimed to identify the sources of heavy metals, map their spatial distribution, and evaluate the potential implications on the environment and human well-being. The prime intent of the current study was quantification of heavy metals in the soil as well as the comparison of risk on the health of human being using two different methods i.e., US EPA methodology for risk assessment and epidemiological study-based risk assessment. Heavy metals like Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Mn, Cr, and Cd were analyzed in agricultural samples of soil with the help of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. On the basis of epidemiological data, the attributable and relative risk came out to be 0.001 and 1.060, respectively. On the basis of the calculation of Cr alone, the values of carcinogenic risk for adults came out to be 3.87 × 10-7 and for children it was 3.01 × 10- 6. In conclusion, this research paper highlights the alarming levels of heavy metals contamination in the soil of Kanpur district, emphasizing the urgent need for remediation and mitigation efforts, thereby guiding policy makers and stakeholders in developing targeted strategies for soil protection and safeguarding human health.

Sewage treatment plant dust: An emerging concern for heavy metals-induced health risks in urban area.

Metal-related pollution from dust is a significant source of toxic elements in urban areas. The present study aimed to assess the health risk posed by heavy metals present in dust samples to the people residing near the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). Dust samples were collected from an STP with a capacity of 130 mega litres per day (MLD). Data analysis indicated highly contaminated STP dust with Enrichment Factor (EF) suggesting an anthropogenic origin of selected metals (As, Co, Al, Cu, Cr, Cd, Ba, Pb, Ni, Mn). The contamination factor values of metals highlighted a greater degree of contamination in the selected area. Notably, a strong correlation (>0.5) was observed between metals. The EF value was found to be >40 indicating high enrichment for all the metals except Fe. In-depth chemical analysis and health risk assessments were conducted, revealing an Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) value of 1 × 10-6 and HQ (Hazard Quotient) value of 1. These values are significantly exceeding the safe limits for both children and adults which could develop cancerous properties in human beings. In an effort to reduce toxicity, dust samples were also subjected to vermicomposting treatment to assess the potential effectiveness of the earthworms. The EF value of vermicomposted dust came out to be lower than the untreated one. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) values for adults exhibited the following pattern of HQing > HQder > HQinh (indicating that the Hazard Quotient from ingestion is greater than that from dermal contact, which is in turn greater than inhalation). This investigation offers crucial insights into the increased risks of cancerous and non-cancerous ailments for individuals living or working in proximity to STPs. This research also highlights the pressing need to implement effective measures for safeguarding public health and mitigating environmental pollution in urban areas.

A critical insight into occurrence and fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their green remediation approaches.

Over the last century, the tremendous growth in industrial activities particularly in the sectors of pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and the reckless application of fertilizers and insecticides has raised the contamination of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) tremendously. For more than a decade, the main focus of environmental experts is to come up with management approaches for the clean-up of sites polluted with PAHs. These are ubiquitous in nature i.e., widely distributed in ecosystem ranging from soil, air and marine water. Most of the PAHs possess immunotoxicity, carcinogenicity and genotoxicity. Being highly soluble in lipids, they are readily absorbed into the mammalian gastro intestinal tract. They are widely distributed with marked tendency of getting localized into body fat in varied tissues. Several remediation technologies have been tested for the removal of these environmental contaminants, particularly bioremediation has turned out to be a hope as the safest and cost-effective option. Therefore, this review first discusses various sources of PAHs, their effect on human health and interactions of PAHs with soils and sediments. In this review, a holistic insight of current scenario of existing remediation technologies and how they can be improvised along with the hindrances in the path of these technologies are properly addressed.