Evaluation of toxicity potential of cobalt in wheat irrigated with wastewater: health risk implications for public

Chen F., Khan Z. I., Zafar A., Ma J., Nadeem M., Ahmad K., ...More

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol.28, no.17, pp.21119-21131, 2021 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 28 Issue: 17
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s11356-020-11815-8
  • Journal Name: Environmental Science and Pollution Research
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, IBZ Online, ABI/INFORM, Aerospace Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Environment Index, Geobase, MEDLINE, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.21119-21131
  • Keywords: Biomonitoring, Cobalt, Health risk, Heavy metal, Wheat
  • Uşak University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The use of wastewater in irrigation weakens the beneficial properties of the soil and leads to a threat to food safety standards. The present research was designed to explore the cobalt toxicity associated with the ingestion of wastewater irrigated wheat. Wheat plants of five different varieties were collected from 7 different sites of Punjab, Pakistan, which were irrigated with three different sources of water. The sampling was done in two cropping years. The cobalt values in water, soil and wheat samples (root, shoot, grain) ranged from 0.46 to 1.24 mg/l, 0.15 to 1.20, 0.29 to 1.30, 0.08 to 0.76 and 0.12 to 0.57 mg/kg, respectively. All the water samples showed high cobalt concentration than the maximum permissible value. However, all the soil and wheat plant samples were found within the maximum allowable range. The high cobalt concentration in irrigating water showed that the continuous usage of such type of water may lead to cobalt toxicity in living organisms with the passage of time and may results in severe health risks.