Heavy metals transfer in soil-vegetable continuum and health risk assessment via consumption in the urban sprawl of Delhi, India

Human health is the biggest issue with consumption of contaminated vegetables and water. This study aimed to quantify heavy metals in soil, irrigation water, and vegetables in five urban and peri-urban area of Delhi. Under this study, vegetable crops, i.e. spinach, tomato, carrot, potato, onion and mustard were selected and soil, water and vegetable samples were analyzed for five toxic heavy metals, i.e. As, Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb. Result showed that in irrigation water samples, Cd crossed the WHO/FAO permissible limit at Mehrauli and Najafgarh, while in all vegetable samples Cd content was detected more than permissible limit except for spinach. At all the sites, transfer factor and hazard risk index were observed higher in spinach and okra. The target hazard quotient were higher in spinach (1.184) and correlated with higher As content. Findings revealed that contaminated vegetables consumption needs to be continuously monitored to avoid adverse health impacts.