Soil and vegetables enrichment with heavy metals from geological sources in Gilgit, northern Pakistan

This study was conducted to investigate the concentrations of heavy metals in soil and vegetables, and human health risks through ingestion of contaminated vegetables. Soil and vegetable samples were collected from different locations in Gilgit, northern Pakistan, and analyzed for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. Plant transfer factors (PTF), daily intake of metals (DIM) and health risk index (HRI) were also calculated. The concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn exceeded their respective permissible limits in soil samples. The highest concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were observed in the edible parts of Malva neglecta, Brassica oleracea, Mintha sylvestris and Brassica campestris, respectively. PTF values were lower for all the selected heavy metals, except for Cd. Furthermore, the HRI values were within the safe limit (<1) except for Pb; therefore, the health risks of metals through ingestion of vegetables were of great concern in the study area.