Status of Heavy Metals in Soil and Vegetables Grown in Peri-Urban Areas of Jabalpur District, Madhya Pradesh, India

Aim: The contamination of soil and vegetables by heavy metals is a critical environmental and public health issue, particularly in regions where wastewater is utilized for irrigation. This study assesses the concentration of heavy metals, (Cr, Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, As, Co and Cu) accumulated in soils and vegetables grown in Peri-urban areas which are mainly irrigated with wastewater.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh during 2022-23.

Methodology: Heavy metal content was measured using an Inductively coupled plasma-Mass Spectroscopy. Few indices for human health were also studied. Ten sites were chosen for soil and plant samples for analysis of metal content.

Results: The study revealed that the metal content of soil samples were below the permissible limits except for soil collected from Khandari site which had Co above the permissible level (203.65 mg/kg) and slightly Cd contamination in Khurji site (0.09 mg/kg). In case of vegetables, brinjal collected from Regama and Kumhi site showed Fe and Cd contamination (735.67 mg/kg, 476.33 mg/kg) and (0.35 mg/kg, 0.34 mg/kg), respectively. Potato and cabbage collected from Khurji and Khandari sites showed Fe contamination of 455.67 mg/kg and 670.83 mg/kg, respectively. Further the result on transfer factor for vegetables was <1, except potato collected from Khandari site which had Cd accumulated in edible portion (11.70). Wheat crop collected from Khurji site also had Cd accumulated (24.66) in grain portion.

Conclusion: Despite few vegetables showed contamination by metals, health risk parameters viz Daily intake of metals, Health risk index and Metal pollution index but were found at safe levels. Thus, it can be concluded that there was no apparent risk for human beings after consumption in Peri-urban regions of Jabalpur district. Still to ensure quality of soil, vegetables and human health measures should be taken to regulate and address pollution of heavy metals in peri-urban areas.