Impact of irrigation with effluent and sewage sludge on heavy metal content in crops
2009
Behbahaninia, A., Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran) | Mirbagheri, S. A. | Khorasani, N. | Nouri, J. | Javid, A. H.
There is a gradual decline in availability of fresh water to be used for irrigation in some parts of Iran. Thus, treated wastewater is an available water resource, especially in arid areas. This study designed to investigate the crop uptake of heavy metals from soils under effluent irrigation and sludge application. For this purpose, four plots were made in Shoush, Wastewater Treatment Plant in south of Tehran. Physico-chemical properties of the soil in the plots were determined. Some plants were cultivated in the all plots. After irrigation period heavy metals like Ni, Pb, Fe, Cd, Zn, Cu and Cr was measured in the crops and the surface and layers of soils. The result indicated that usage of sludge increased metal contents in soil and plants and these vegetables can be unsafe for human consumption. The highest mean levels of Ni; Cd was detected in all plants especially in spinach, lettuce and alfalfa. The lowest concentration was found in watermelon and tomato. The comparison of heavy metals uptake among plants showed high positive correlation between watermelon and tomato in all plots. Results showed highly positive and significant P more than 0.05 correlation coefficients between Zn and Cd (r=0.724) in all the plants in different plots.
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