The rise in the human population is a major factor contributing toward increased environmental contamination. Rampant industrialization and urbanization has resulted in the discharge of hazardous materials in the environment, making it unfit for life. Inorganic pollutants accumulate themselves in edible or non-edible parts of the cultivated crops and as a result they become part of the food chain. Concentrations of chromium and cadmium were measured in various parts of edible crops, i.e., wheat and maize. Random sampling was done in the field irrigated with sewage water and fresh water in the vicinity of Okara. It was a comparative study between crops irrigated with fresh and waste waters. After profound analysis, it was found that the level of cadmium increased by 4.81-fold in stems, 1.87-fold in leaves, 1.23-fold in grains, and 2.96-fold in roots of the wheat samples that were being treated with sewage water compared to that of freshwater samples, respectively, and the concentration of cadmium increased by 2.14-fold in roots, 8.29-fold in leaves, and 6.84-fold in stems of the maize samples, respectively. A similar trend was observed in concentrations of chromium. Results were also compared to the standards suggested by FAO/WHO, but the amount of cadmium and chromium in both freshwater and wastewater irrigated samples were higher compared to the standards. Therefore, wastewater irrigation must be controlled in order to ensure human health safety.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.