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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/FWSH/18
Health risk assessment of potentially hazardous elements in soil, plants and
groundwater in peri-urban areas of Faisalabad, Pakistan

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Raqash Fatima, Behzad Murtaza , Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Amjad, Ghulam Abbas,
Sajjad Ahmad, Muhammad Asif Naeem
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari- Campus,
61100 Pakistan
Correspondence: behzadmurtaza@cuivehari.edu.pk

Abstract
In Pakistan, freshwater scarcity has become the most alarming situation/issue. The urbanization
causes the contamination of water bodies and degradation of urban waterways. This
contamination not only pollutes the freshwater resources but it also has negative impact on soil,
plants and human health. The current study, therefore, was carried out to assess the heavy
metals (Fe, Ni and Cu) contamination of the groundwater in Peri-urban areas of Faisalabad,
Pakistan. Moreover, the potential impacts of groundwater contamination on soil and plants
(spinach and brassica) were evaluated. Additionally, the groundwater and soil samples were
analysed for heavy metals (Fe, Ni and Pb). Results revealed that the concentration of Ni and
Cu was very low in water samples, while the Fe concentration was 1.978 mg/L in water
samples. The mean value of Fe was greater than limit value according to WHO standards.
Similarly, the mean value of Cu (0.7 mg/L) was greater than other metals (Ni and Fe) in the
soil. The spinach and brassica plants samples show the higher Fe concentrations i.e. 17.2 and
3.22 mg/L, respectively as compared to Ni and Cu. The potential impact of metal contamination
of the groundwater and plants has been estimated on human health, respectively, by calculating
Hazard Quotient (HQ), Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and Incremental Life Time Cancer risk
(ILTCR). In case of water risk for human beings, the human beings are more prone to cancer
risk by using Ni contaminated water i.e. 0.0031 compared to spinach and brassica. Principle
component analysis and masked matrix correlation showed a moderate correlation between Ni
2
2
and Cu in brassica (r : 0.46) and Fe and Ni (r : 0.31) in spinach, while metals concentration in
water and brassica showed far more scattered behaviour on the plot with no strong correlation.
Based on the results of the present study, it is expected that special management and monitoring
of drinking water/groundwater are essential in the studied area to restrict the health risks
associated with the use of metal contaminated drinking water.

Keywords: Freshwater scarcity; heavy metals; brassica; spinach

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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