A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity
This is a pioneering study on the main drainage system in Gujranwala District, where untreated mixed wastewater is discharged and subsequently used for vegetable irrigation, leading to potential health and environmental risks. This study seeks to develop the spatial pattern of toxic metal accumulati...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| author | Isha Shakoor Amina Sultan Kamran Shaukat Talha Mahboob Alam Aisha Nazir |
| author_facet | Isha Shakoor Amina Sultan Kamran Shaukat Talha Mahboob Alam Aisha Nazir |
| author_sort | Isha Shakoor |
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| description | This is a pioneering study on the main drainage system in Gujranwala District, where untreated mixed wastewater is discharged and subsequently used for vegetable irrigation, leading to potential health and environmental risks. This study seeks to develop the spatial pattern of toxic metal accumulation in soil across an 11 km stretch of land used for vegetable cultivation. By using 90 samples of mixed wastewater and sludge, as well as 10 quadruplicate samples of rhizospheric soils and crops from ten vegetable fields, it was observed that the concentrations of Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, Fe, Pb, Mg, and Ni in cauliflower (<i>Brassica oleracea</i> var. <i>botrytis</i> L.), coriander (<i>Coriandrum sativum</i> L.), radish (<i>Raphanus sativus</i> L.), mustard (<i>Brassica juncea</i> L.), spinach (<i>Spinacia oleracea</i> L.), meadow clover (<i>Trifolium</i> sp. L.), sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolour</i> L.), garlic (<i>Allium sativum</i> L.), brinjal (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.), and mint (<i>Mentha</i> L.) were beyond the permissible limits set by the FAO/WHO, 2001. The declining trend of the toxic metal concentrations in the effluent was Mg > Cr > Ni > Zn > Pb > Cd > Cu > Fe, and in sludge, soil, and plants, it varied in the order of Mg > Fe > Cr > Ni > Zn > Pb > Cd > Cu. Radish, mint, and brinjal had the highest quantities of toxic metals. The spatial pattern of toxic metals was determined by using proximity interpolation, Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), the fine tuning of the interpolation characteristics, and the kriging of selected sample variograms. Toxic metals were found in the following order: plants > soil > sludge > effluents. The most prevalent cause of metal pollution was soil irrigation with polluted water. This study provides crucial information about the extent of contamination, which could help in the identification of public health risk, the assessment of environmental impacts, and also sustainable water management. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a79f6cf52c554ee2bdff93b5061abcd6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-a79f6cf52c554ee2bdff93b5061abcd62025-08-20T02:24:42ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-03-0115484110.3390/agronomy15040841A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater ToxicityIsha Shakoor0Amina Sultan1Kamran Shaukat2Talha Mahboob Alam3Aisha Nazir4Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, PakistanEnvironmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, PakistanCentre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Optimization, Design and Creative Technology Vertical, Torrens University Australia, Ultimo, NSW 2007, AustraliaDepartment of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7034 Trondheim, NorwayEnvironmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, PakistanThis is a pioneering study on the main drainage system in Gujranwala District, where untreated mixed wastewater is discharged and subsequently used for vegetable irrigation, leading to potential health and environmental risks. This study seeks to develop the spatial pattern of toxic metal accumulation in soil across an 11 km stretch of land used for vegetable cultivation. By using 90 samples of mixed wastewater and sludge, as well as 10 quadruplicate samples of rhizospheric soils and crops from ten vegetable fields, it was observed that the concentrations of Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, Fe, Pb, Mg, and Ni in cauliflower (<i>Brassica oleracea</i> var. <i>botrytis</i> L.), coriander (<i>Coriandrum sativum</i> L.), radish (<i>Raphanus sativus</i> L.), mustard (<i>Brassica juncea</i> L.), spinach (<i>Spinacia oleracea</i> L.), meadow clover (<i>Trifolium</i> sp. L.), sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolour</i> L.), garlic (<i>Allium sativum</i> L.), brinjal (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.), and mint (<i>Mentha</i> L.) were beyond the permissible limits set by the FAO/WHO, 2001. The declining trend of the toxic metal concentrations in the effluent was Mg > Cr > Ni > Zn > Pb > Cd > Cu > Fe, and in sludge, soil, and plants, it varied in the order of Mg > Fe > Cr > Ni > Zn > Pb > Cd > Cu. Radish, mint, and brinjal had the highest quantities of toxic metals. The spatial pattern of toxic metals was determined by using proximity interpolation, Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), the fine tuning of the interpolation characteristics, and the kriging of selected sample variograms. Toxic metals were found in the following order: plants > soil > sludge > effluents. The most prevalent cause of metal pollution was soil irrigation with polluted water. This study provides crucial information about the extent of contamination, which could help in the identification of public health risk, the assessment of environmental impacts, and also sustainable water management.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/4/841toxic metalseffluentsludgerhizospheric soil contaminationinterpolationpolluted vegetation |
| spellingShingle | Isha Shakoor Amina Sultan Kamran Shaukat Talha Mahboob Alam Aisha Nazir A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity Agronomy toxic metals effluent sludge rhizospheric soil contamination interpolation polluted vegetation |
| title | A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity |
| title_full | A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity |
| title_short | A Novel Method to Investigate Environmental Risk in Wastewater Toxicity |
| title_sort | novel method to investigate environmental risk in wastewater toxicity |
| topic | toxic metals effluent sludge rhizospheric soil contamination interpolation polluted vegetation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/4/841 |
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