en
Scientific article
Open access
English

Heavy metal concentration in irrigation water, soil and dietary risk assessment of Amaranthus viridis grown in peri-urban areas in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Published inWatershed Ecology and the Environment, vol. 2, p. 16-24
Publication date2020
Abstract

The urban agriculture in developing countries plays a huge important socioeconomic role in confronting the challenge of eradicating hunger, improving food security and the social daily life of the population. However, the quality evaluation of water used for urban agriculture irrigation as well as the accumulation of pollutants such as heavy metals in fresh produces are still largely unstudied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concentration of metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and Hg) in irrigation water from rivers, soil and Amaranthus viridis (A. viridis), in order to evaluate the potential human dietary risks. The research was conducted in eight sites characterized by intensive agriculture performed in watersheds in Kinshasa, capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo. The results showed high metal concentrations in A. viridis leaf varying considerably among sampling sites (P<0.05), reaching the values (in mg kg-1 wet weight) of 2.97 (Cr), 1.73 (Co), 12.30 (Ni), 16.11 (Cu), 652.91 (Zn), 0.10 (As), 1.62 (Cd), 8.91 (Pb), and 0.1 (Hg). These values exceeded safe limits set by Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization for human consumption (WHO/FAO) for human consumption. The assessment of human health risks using the targeted risk quotient and estimated dietary intake showed potential health hazards to consumers due to the levels of Cd and Pb in leafy vegetables from several studied sites. The vegetable contamination can be explained by chemicals used to combat and prevent A. viridis diseases, and the vehicle and motorcycle emissions around. Thus, given the concentrations of metals in A. viridus leaf, human health implications are likely to occur on heavy continuous consumption.

Keywords
  • Urban agriculture
  • Amaranthus viridis
  • Metals
  • Water pollution
  • Dietary intake
  • Health risk
Funding
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - grant n° IZSEZO_188357 / 1
Citation (ISO format)
NGWEME, Georgette N. et al. Heavy metal concentration in irrigation water, soil and dietary risk assessment of Amaranthus viridis grown in peri-urban areas in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In: Watershed Ecology and the Environment, 2020, vol. 2, p. 16–24. doi: 10.1016/j.wsee.2020.07.001
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Article (Published version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal2589-4714
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158downloads

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