article · Watershed Ecology and the Environment
Urban agriculture provides essential food security and socioeconomic support across developing regions, yet irrigation water quality and contaminant accumulation in produce frequently remain unexamined. Research conducted across eight intensive agricultural sites in watersheds around Kinshasa evaluated concentrations of nine metals in river irrigation water, soil, and Amaranthus viridis leafy vegetables. The sampled plants contained high concentrations of chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, with levels varying significantly between sites and exceeding international safety thresholds established by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Health risk evaluations based on dietary intake estimates and target hazard quotients identified meaningful risks to consumers, particularly driven by cadmium and lead accumulation. Observed contamination relates to vehicle and motorcycle emissions alongside chemical treatments applied to crops, indicating that regular, continuous consumption of these vegetables presents human health risks.
Urban agriculture helps reduce hunger in growing cities, but contaminated produce directly threatens public health. Pinpointing toxic metal levels in common staple greens alerts local communities, environmental monitors, and urban planners to the hidden dangers of vehicle emissions and agrochemicals polluting essential urban food supplies.
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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 < .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). 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. viridis leaf, human health implications are likely to occur on heavy continuous consumption.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.wsee.2020.07.001
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