Title: Geochemistry of sediments and water with a health risk assessment of heavy metal contaminated vegetables grown in Dhapa, a waste disposal site in Kolkata, India

Authors: Avijit Das; Dilip Kumar Bandopadhyay; Pravas Kumar Jee; Aparna Karmakar

Addresses: Central Chemical Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, 15 A&B Kyd Street, Kolkata 700016, India ' Central Chemical Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, 15 A&B Kyd Street, Kolkata 700016, India ' Central Chemical Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, 15 A&B Kyd Street, Kolkata 700016, India ' Central Chemical Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, 15 A&B Kyd Street, Kolkata 700016, India

Abstract: Dhapa, is a well known municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal site in the eastern part of the city of Kolkata. Geochemical study reported here shows that in its sediments, the concentration of Zn, Cu and Pb greatly exceed the average worldwide shale concentration. The water samples collected from tubewells, dugwells, pond and canals have elevated concentrations of Zn, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb. The pollution load index values for the twenty sampling sites ranged from 1.03-6.44. High enrichment factors for Pb, Zn, Cr, Mn and Cu, imply high accumulation of metal toxins in leaves and edible portions of locally grown vegetables. The transfer factors for the different metals were in the order of TFNi > TFCr > TFCu > TFPb > TFMn. However, compared with the health hazard quotient of < 1 for heavy metals, except for Pb, the consumption of Dhapa vegetables showed a low health risk.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; MSW; Dhapa; heavy metals; enrichment factor; pollution load index; health risk assessment; India; geochemistry; sediments; water pollution; contaminated vegetables; solid waste disposal; India.

DOI: 10.1504/WRSTSD.2014.066817

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.248 - 268

Received: 10 Feb 2014
Accepted: 15 Aug 2014
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article