Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357
DOI 10.1007/s10661-009-1006-6
Heavy metal contamination in water, soil, and vegetables
of the industrial areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Jasim Uddin Ahmad · Md. Abdul Goni
Received: 19 November 2008 / Accepted: 17 May 2009 / Published online: 12 June 2009
© Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009
Abstract Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd,
Fe, and Ni have been estimated in soils and veg-
etables grown in and around an industrial area
of Bangladesh. The order of metal contents was
found to be Fe > Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Ni >
Cd in contaminated irrigation water, and a similar
pattern Fe > Zn > Ni > Cr > Pb > Cu > Cd
was also observed in arable soils. Metal levels
observed in different sources were compared with
WHO, SEPA, and established permissible levels
reported by different authors. Mean concentra-
tion of Cu, Fe, and Cd in irrigation water and
Cd content in soil were much above the recom-
mended level. Accumulation of the heavy metals
in vegetables studied was lower than the recom-
mended maximum tolerable levels proposed by
the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives (1999), with the exception of Cd which
exhibited elevated content. Uptake and transloca-
tion pattern of metal from soil to edible parts of
J. U. Ahmad
Department of Chemistry, Jahangirnagar University,
Savar, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh
e-mail: jahmad1947@yahoo.com
M. A. Goni (B)
Department of Chemistry, Bangladesh University of
Engineering & Technology, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
e-mail: abdulgoni@chem.buet.ac.bd
vegetables were quite distinguished for almost all
the elements examined.
Keywords Trace elements · Plant uptake ·
Bioconcentration factor · Wastewater irrigation
Introduction
Heavy metal pollution of agricultural soil and veg-
etables is one of the most severe ecological prob-
lems on a world scale and also in Bangladesh. The
food chain contamination is the major pathway
of heavy metal exposure for humans (Khan et al.
2008). Industrial or municipal wastewater irriga-
tion is a common reality in three fourth of the
cities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Gupta
et al. 2008). Wastewater from industries or other
sources carries an appreciable amount of toxic
heavy metals which create a problem for safe ra-
tional utilization of agricultural soil (Yadav et al.
2002; Chen et al. 2005; Singh et al. 2004).
Long-term use of industrial or municipal waste-
water in irrigation is known to have significant
contribution to trace elements such as Cd, Cu, Zn,
Cr, Ni, Pb, and Mn in surface soil (Mapanda et al.
2005). Excessive accumulation of trace elements
in agricultural soils through wastewater irrigation
may not only result in soil contamination but also
affect food quality and safety (Muchuweti et al.
2006; Sharma et al. 2007). Some trace elements
348
are essential in plant nutrition, but plants grow-
ing in the nearby zone of industrial areas display
increased concentration of heavy metals, serving
in many cases as biomonitors of pollution loads
(Mingorance et al. 2007). Vegetables cultivated
in soils polluted with toxic metals due to indus-
trial activities take up heavy metals and accumu-
late them in their edible and non-edible parts in
quantities high enough to cause clinical problems
both to animals and human beings consuming
these metal-rich plants because there is no good
mechanism for their elimination from the human
body (Arora et al. 2008; Alam et al. 2003). Trace
elements are very harmful because of their non-
biodegradable nature, long biological half-lives,
and their potential to accumulate in different body
parts. High concentrations of trace elements (Cu,
Cd, and Pb) in vegetables and fruits were related
to high prevalence of upper gastrointestinal can-
cer (Turkdogan et al. 2002).
In Bangladesh, more than 90 vegetables and 60
fruits are being grown in the country (Alam et al.
2003). Major vegetable crops include brinjal (egg
plant), chilli, lady’s finger, potato, tomato, etc. In
an average Bengali home, the main meal would
consist of boiled rice served with some sort of
vegetables. There have been a number of studies
which reported the deposition of heavy metals in
soil, crops, and vegetables grown in the vicinity of
industrial areas (Yang et al. 2004; Grytsyuk et al.
2006; Mingorance et al. 2007; Khan et al. 2008).
However, there are very few published reports
from Bangladesh for heavy metal contamination
in soil and irrigation water and its transfer to
vegetable crops grown in the vicinity of industrial
areas.
This paper investigates the level of Cu, Zn, Pb,
Cr, Cd, Fe, and Ni in irrigation water, soils, and in
vegetables from agricultural land near Dhaka Ex-
port Processing Zone, which is one of the largest
industrial complexes located at Savar in Dhaka
of Bangladesh. The aim of the work was to high-
light the contamination status of heavy metals in
edible portion of vegetables grown in industrially
polluted soils in Bangladesh and to identify the
interactions between soil and crops metal con-
centration. The concentrations of heavy metals in
soil, vegetables, and water were compared with
the established safe limit. This provides a basis for
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357
guiding further activities aimed at preventing ex-
posure of humans through monitoring and control
of irrigation water and/or amelioration of uptake
to vegetables.
Materials and methods
Study area and sampling
The present study was carried out from January
2005 to February 2006 in and around Dhaka Ex-
port Processing Zone (DEPZ), which is a large in-
dustrial area comprised of a good number of local
and foreign industries like fabric printing and dye-
ing, food processing, textiles, electric cables, phar-
maceutical, chemical, etc., located at about 25 km
away from the capital city Dhaka of Bangladesh.
Most of the industries discharge their effluents
without any prior treatment, through open drain
and contaminates water, soil, and vegetables of
the adjacent areas.
Different kinds of vegetables such as brinjal
(egg plants) (Solanum melongena L.), chilli (Cap-
sicum frutescence), radishes (Raphanus sativus),
etc. are grown in the area throughout the year
and are used for home consumption and mainly
for selling to residential areas of Dhaka. Sam-
ples of soil and five vegetables [brinjal (egg
plants), chilli, lady’s finger, tomatoes, and green
cabbage] were collected randomly in triplicate
from effluent-contaminated agricultural land lo-
cated beside Dhalai beel (a lake in which all
the complex industrial effluents from DEPZ are
disposed).
For each plant sample, 10–15 vegetable plants
of the same species were collected at random from
the fields of the sampling sites by hand using vinyl
gloves, carefully packed into polyethylene bags,
and the whole plant body was brought to the labo-
ratory. The cleaning (removal of soil) of vegetable
plant samples was performed by shaking and also
by means of a dry pre-cleaned vinyl brush. Then
the whole vegetable plant bodies were divided
into different parts and non-edible portions were
removed as per normal household practices. The
edible parts of the vegetable samples were washed
with tap water several times and subsequently
dipped in 0.01 N HCl acid for 5 min followed
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357
by thorough washing in distilled and deionized
water to remove airborne pollutants. Then the
samples were cut into 2-cm pieces and dried in a
hot air oven at 70–80◦ C till the constant weight
was achieved. The dried samples were ground in
a stainless steel blender and then passed through
a 2-mm-size sieve. Soil samples from the surface
soil to a depth of 15 cm around each plant root
zone were collected simultaneously from the field
with the plant. The soil samples were air dried at
room temperature, finely powdered, and sieved
through a 2-mm nylon mesh to remove large
debris, stones, and pebbles. Then the samples
(500 g of soil) were dried at 105◦ C for 2 h to
remove all the moisture content and ground to
pass through 60 mesh sieves and homogenized for
analysis. The dried samples were wet digested.
For water sampling, three replicate polythene bot-
tles (acid washed) of capacity 100 mL were im-
mersed one by one at an interval of 15 s into
the water of Dhalai beel that was being used for
irrigation purposes, and immediately after filling,
1 mL of concentrated HNO3 was added to the
water and the bottles were brought back to the
laboratory and digestion was completed within
a week.
Analytical procedure for heavy metal analysis
Fifty milliliters of mixed effluent-contaminated
water sample was digested with 10 mL of concen-
trated HNO3 at 80◦ C until the solution became
transparent (APHA 1985). The solution was fil-
tered through Whatman no. 42 filter paper and
the filtrate was diluted to 50 mL with distilled and
deionized water.
One gram each of soil and vegetable samples
were digested (wet acid digestion) with 15 mL
of concentrated HNO3 , H2 SO4 , and HCIO4 in
5:1:1 ratio at 80◦ C until a transparent solution
was obtained (Allen et al. 1986). The digested
samples of water, soil, and vegetables were fil-
tered through Whatman no. 42 filter paper and
the filtrates were diluted to 50 mL with distilled
and deionized water. All samples were stored at
ambient temperature before analysis.
All reagents used were Merck, analytical
grade (AR), including standard stock solutions of
known concentrations of different heavy metals.
349
Table 1 Wavelength and detection limit of each heavy
metal measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer
(model—Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 300, USA)
Element Wavelength Detection limits
(nm) (μg L−1 )
Cu 324.8 0.006
Zn 213.9 0.005
Pb 283.3 0.04
Cr 357.9 0.01
Cd 228.8 0.016
Fe 248.3 0.05
Ni 232.0 0.015
Trace elements concentrations in water, soil,
and in vegetable samples were estimated by an
atomic absorption spectrometer (Perkin Elmer
AAnalyst 300). The limits of detection of dif-
ferent heavy metals are given in Table 1. Blank
samples were analyzed after seven samples. Con-
centrations were calculated on a dry weight ba-
sis. All analyses were replicated three times. The
precision and analytical accuracy were checked
by analysis of standard reference material, NIST-
SRM 2709 for soil, NIST-SRM 1570 for water,
and NBS-SRM 1573 for plant samples. The results
were found to be within 2% of certified values for
every heavy metal. To assess the contamination
level of heavy metals, mean, median, minimum,
maximum, and standard deviation of water, soil,
and vegetable samples were performed using Mi-
crosoft Excel (version 2000).
Results and discussion
Heavy metal concentrations in irrigation water
Out of seven elements examined in effluent-
contaminated water used for irrigation in DEPZ
area, concentration of Fe was highest (5.53 mg
L−1 ) and for Cd it was lowest (0.02 mg L−1 ).
Copper concentration ranged from 1.35 to 2.88
mg L−1 which was lower than the values (0.07–
6.30 mg L−1 ) reported by Gupta et al. (2008).
Maximum Pb concentration in water was 0.30
mg L−1 and Cd concentration varied from 0.02 to
0.08 mg L−1 which were in good agreement with
the previous findings of Sharma et al. (2006) (0.02–
0.04 mg L−1 ).
350 Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357

Ni contents ranged from 0.13 to 0.29 mg L−1
and Cr was found to be 0.29 to 0.53 mg L−1 .
The mean concentration (mg L−1 ) of seven heavy
metals Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, Fe, and Ni found in
water samples was 2.17, 0.95, 0.21, 0.43, 0.06, 4.94,
and 0.19, respectively (Table 2) in which Cu, Cr,
and Cd concentrations were higher than the mean
metal concentrations of irrigation water in Tita-
garh, West Bengal, India (Gupta et al. 2008) and
also more than the metal concentrations of wa-
ter in suburban areas of Varanasi, India (Sharma
et al. 2007).
The higher standard deviation observed for
heavy metal Cu, Zn, and Fe in waste water sug-
gests that these metals were not uniformly distrib-
uted in the study area which is reported by Sharma
et al. (2006). The data obtained for heavy metals
in water from the present study varied more or
less regularly with the findings of the other authors
(Khan et al. 1998; Al-Nakshabandi et al. 1997).
This variation might be ascribed to a variety
of industries discharging their treated and/or un-
treated waste water into the Dhalai beel which
was the source of water used for irrigation pur-
poses. The concentrations of heavy metals in in-
dustrial effluents also depend on the process of
product manufacturing and raw materials used
in the industries (Sharma et al. 2006). In com-
parison with the standard guideline of irrigation
water (Pescod 1992), it was found that the mean
concentration of Cu, Cr, Cd, and Fe was 10-, 4-,
6-, and 2-fold higher than the recommended per-
missible level while Pb, Zn, and Ni concentra-
tion of wastewater samples were within the safe
limit. This result suggests that heavy metal-based
industries such as fabric printing, battery, paints,
and cable manufacturing in and around the DEPZ
area using heavy metals such as Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb,
Fe, Ni, and Zn in colors, pigments, electroplat-
ing, and metal surface treatments are the main
sources of elevated heavy metal concentration in
wastewater.
Heavy metal concentration in soil
The concentration of heavy metals (mg kg−1
dry soil) in agricultural soils of the study area
(Table 3) ranged from 31.35 to 45.16 for Cu,
103.20 to 123.49 for Zn, 44.31 to 52.21 for Pb, 33.89
to 67.58 for Cr, 6.21 to 16.11 for Cd, 1,054.82 to
2,214.18 for Fe, and 36.03 to 74.16 for Ni. Besides
Fe, the mean highest concentrations recorded in
soil was for Zn followed by Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cu,
and the minimum concentration was observed for
Cd which conforms with the result reported by
Gupta et al. (2008). Highest deposition of Fe in
soil might be due to its long-term use in the pro-
duction of machine tools, paints, pigments, and
alloying in various industries of the study area that
may contaminate soil and change the soil structure
and thus make it less fertile for cultivation. The
extent of metals observed in agricultural soil of
the industrial areas in the present investigation
exceeded the permissible levels reported by dif-
ferent authors like Kabata-Pendias and Pendias
(1992) (except Pb and Cr), Bowen (1966) (except
Zn and Pb), and Temmerman et al. (1984) (except
Pb and Cr).

Table 2 Heavy metal concentrations (mg L−1 ) in effluent-contaminated water used for irrigation in and around DEPZ,
Dhaka of Bangladesh (n = 49)
Metal Safe limita Present study
Mean Median Minimum Maximum S.D.
Cu 0.2 2.17 2.24 1.35 2.88 0.46
Zn 2.0 0.95 0.98 0.49 1.69 0.40
Pb 0.5 0.21 0.19 0.14 0.30 0.05
Cr 0.1 0.43 0.43 0.29 0.53 0.08
Cd 0.01 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.08 0.04
Fe 2.0 4.94 4.90 4.13 5.53 0.45
Ni 0.2 0.19 0.17 0.13 0.29 0.05
n: number of samples
a Safe limit of toxic heavy metals in irrigation water for agricultural purpose (Pescod 1992)
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357 351

5.36
7.75
3.32
12.37
4.63
421.33
18.15
Again, the comparison of mean concentra-

S.D.
tions of heavy metals in soil of the study area
with the official Indian standard (Awashthi 2000)

45.16
123.49
52.21
67.58
16.11
2,214.18
74.16
Max. and maximum allowable concentration (MAC)
of elements in agricultural soil in China showed
that only the concentration of Cd was found
Contaminated soil (present study)

to be 3-folds higher than the threshold level of

31.35

44.31
103.20

33.89
6.21

36.03
1,054.82
India and 19 times higher than China standard.
Min.

The result of the present study revealed that

the level of heavy metals in soil was lower than
40.87
116.93
51.56
56.82
13.71

61.72
1,763.11
Median

those reported in Titagarh, West Bengal, India

Table 3 Concentration of heavy metals in wastewater irrigated soil (mg kg−1 dry soil) in industrial areas of Bangladesh (n = 45)

(Gupta et al. 2008) but higher than the re-

sult observed in Varanasi, India by Sharma
et al. (2007). However, Cu concentration (31.35–
39.14
115.43
49.71
53.70
11.42
1,715.80
58.16
Mean

45.16 mg kg−1 ) in soil was also lower than the

previous result obtained by Tandi et al. (2004)
(2.5–133.3 mg kg−1 ) and of Mapanda et al. (2005)
1,000
Soile

(7–145 mg kg−1 ) in Zimbabwe but more than

Uncontaminated soil

100

100
30

50

30
1

those of Wong et al. (2002) in agricultural soil of

China.
Soild

0.06
100
100
20
50

40

This variation of result might probably be due

–

to the variations of heavy metal concentrations

Soilc

in irrigation water and other agronomic practices

150
25

50
30
1
–
1

of the respective area. The higher standard de-

viation reveals higher variations in heavy metal
Safe limit
Indiab
135–270
300–600
250–500

distributions from the point source of emission

75–150

to the adjacent areas. The low concentration of

3–6
n/a
of

heavy metals in the soil may be ascribed to its

Environmental Protection Agency of China, GB 15618, 1995

continuous removal by vegetables grown in the

Threshold of elements in natu-
Chinaa

designated areas. Among the seven heavy metals

examined in soil, concentration of Fe was maxi-
mum (2,214.18 mg kg−1 ) and variation of its con-
ral background soil in

centrations was several times higher than those of

Kisku et al. (2000).
In Bangladesh, the agricultural soil is contami-
nated with heavy metals through the repeated use
e Source: Kabata-Pendias and Pendias (1992)

of wastewater from industries and other sources

0.20
100
35

35
90

40
–

in irrigation as well as application of chemical

fertilizers and pesticides. Heavy metals occur in
MAC of elements in ag-

d Source: Temmerman et al. (1984)

Chinaa

effluents of industries and in many fertilizers and

pesticides.
ricultural soil in

Awashthi (2000)

Cd, for example, is found in wastewater and

c Source: Bowen (1966)

also in phosphatic fertilizers due to the presence

of Cd as an impurity in all phosphate rocks. On
many of agricultural soils, with the use of effluent-
100
300
350
200
0.6

60

contaminated water in irrigation, heavy doses of

–

a National

phosphate fertilizers have been applied for over

b Source:
Metals

50 years, and all of the heavy metals found in these

Cu
Zn

Cd
Pb
Cr

Fe
Ni

sources keep accumulating in soils. The amounts

352
Conc. (mg/kg d.wt)
50
40
30
20
10
0
Egg plant Chilli Tomato
Vegetables
Fig. 1 Mean heavy metal concentration (Cu, Zn, and Pb)
in vegetables of industrial areas, Bangladesh
now present are becoming more and more toxic
(Alam et al. 2003).
Heavy metal concentrations in vegetables
The average per capita consumption of leafy
and non-leafy vegetables is 130 g person−1 day−1
(Alam et al. 2003). This is considerably less than
the recommended amounts of 200 g person−1
day−1 from a nutritional point of view (Hasan and
Ahmad 2000). The heavy metal concentrations
in edible parts of vegetables grown in industrial
areas around Dhaka, Bangladesh are shown in
Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The range and mean concentra-
tions of heavy metals (mg kg−1 dry weight) in leafy
and other vegetables are presented in Table 4.
In leafy vegetables (lady’s finger and cabbage),
the concentration of heavy metals (mg kg−1 dry
weight) ranged between 9.66 and 20.67 for Cu,
16.54–67.06 for Zn, 9.88–26.34 for Pb, 2.28–11.84
for Cr, 1.03–4.65 for Cd, 108.57–450.70 for Fe,
and 3.05–26.63 for Ni (Table 4). The mean Cu
content in vegetables (8.63–27.94 mg kg−1 ) was
very similar to the result reported in Titagarh
Conc.(mg/kg d.wt)
25
20
15
10
5 Ni
0 0
Egg Chilli Tomato
plant
Vegetables
Fig. 2 Mean heavy metal concentration (Cr, Cd, and Ni)
in vegetables of industrial areas, Bangladesh
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357
West Bengal, India (15.66–34.49 mg kg−1 ) (Gupta
Cu et al. 2008) but lower than the Cu content in
Zn
vegetables (61.20 mg kg−1 ) from Zhengzhou city,
Pb
China (Liu et al. 2006).
However, the variation of Cu concentration
Lady's Cabbage
finger in vegetables in the present study was strongly
supported by the findings (5.21–18.2 mg kg−1 )
of Arora et al. (2008) and also in good agree-
ment with the values observed in Varanasi, India
(10.95–28.58 mg kg−1 ) by Sharma et al. (2007).
Maximum Cu concentration (37.73 mg kg−1 ) was
found in tomato whereas the mean value was
15.03 and 14.25 mg kg−1 for lady’s finger and
cabbage, respectively, which were lower than the
mean value 32.74 and 36.41 mg kg−1 , respectively,
reported by Sharma et al. (2008) for the same
vegetables in India. In addition, Cu levels in veg-
etables showed good agreement with the mean Cu
concentrations in leafy and non-leafy vegetables
15.5 and 8.51 mg kg−1 from Samata village, Jes-
sor, Bangladesh obtained by Alam et al. (2003).
The higher Cu levels obtained in vegetables from
present study than those of above author reveals
the elevated uptake of the heavy metals in plants
grown in industrial areas of Bangladesh. Concen-
trations of Cu in vegetables were within the safe
limit of WHO and other authors except for lady’s
finger as recommended in SEPA (2005).
The highest concentration of Zn was found in
cabbage (42.06 mg kg−1 ) followed by lady’s finger
(34.70 mg kg−1 ). The mean concentration of Zn
(19.54–42.06 mg kg−1 ) in vegetables from DEPZ
area of Dhaka was very similar to the vegeta-
bles from Beijing, China (32.01–69.26 mg kg−1 )
(Liu et al. 2005), as also from Rajasthan, India
(21.1–46.4 mg kg−1 ) (Arora et al. 2008), but sub-
stantially lower than the Zn concentrations (3.00–
171.03 mg kg−1 ) in vegetables from Titagarh,
Fe
Conc.(mg/kg d.wt)
Cr 400
300
Cd
200
100
Lady's Cabbage Egg plant Chilli Tomato Lady's Cabbage
finger finger
Vegetables
Fig. 3 Mean Fe concentration in vegetables of industrial
areas, Bangladesh
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357 353

limitc
Safe
West Bengal, India (Gupta et al. 2008), Harare,

100

0.5
0.2
20

10
Zimbabwe (1,038–1,872 mg kg−1 ) (Tandi et al.

–
2004), and also the vegetables of Varanasi,
limitb India (59.61–79.46 mg kg−1 ) (Sharma et al.
Safe

2.5

1.5

1.5
30
50

20
2008) and from Delhi, India (46.7–91.9 mg kg−1 )

–
Table 4 Heavy metal concentration (mg kg−1 dry weight) in vegetables grown in and around industrial areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh: mean and (range)

(Rattan et al. 2005). The maximum concentra-

limita
Safe

tion of Pb was exhibited by cabbage (22.09 mg

450
0.3
40
60

20
5
5 kg−1 ) followed by lady’s finger (15.72 mg kg−1 )
which exceeded the acceptable tolerance level of
290.73 (110.29–450.70)
42.06 (16.54–67.06)
22.09 (17.35–26.34)

23.68 (10.48–26.63)
WHO for Pb by four times and three times, re-
14.25 (9.81–20.67)

7.58 (6.10–8.74)
2.05 (1.05–3.10)

spectively. Pb concentrations in edible portions

Cabbage (13)

of all the vegetables examined in the present

study were above the permissible levels recom-
mended by WHO, India (Awashthi 2000), and
China (SEPA 2005). The mean Pb content in veg-
etables (11.97–22.09 mg kg−1 ) was lower than the
values reported in Titagarh, West Bengal, India
196.25 (108.57–322.75)

(21.59–57.63 mg kg−1 ) (Gupta et al. 2008) but

34.70 (28.35–45.13)
15.03 (9.66–17.95)

15.72 (9.88–24.65)
6.64 (2.28–11.84)

10.86 (3.05–19.49)
2.81 (1.03–4.65)
Lady’s finger (11)

comparatively higher than the Pb level reported

in China (0.18–7.75 mg kg−1 , Liu et al. 2006; 1.97–
3.81 mg kg−1 , Liu et al. 2005) and in Varanasi,
India (3.09–15.74 mg kg−1 ) (Sharma et al. 2007).
However, it was significantly lower than the mean
concentration of Pb (409 mg kg−1 ) reported in
vegetables from Turkey by Turkdogan et al.
350.28 (149.15–560.44)
27.94 (17.35–37.73)
28.98 (11.43–46.49)

(2002). Cr concentration was varied from 3.70

14.15 (7.89–20.54)
9.03 (7.67–10.39)

9.44 (7.12–12.32)
2.39 (0.89–3.70)

to 9.03 mg kg−1 and found to be in the order:

tomato > cabbage > lady’s finger > egg plant >
Tomato (13)

chilli. The mean level of Cr in vegetables in the

present study were significantly lower than con-
a FAO/WHO standard (Codex Alimentarious Commission 1984)

centrations reported in Titagarh, West Bengal,

India (34.83–96.30 mg kg−1 ) (Gupta et al. 2008)
146.29 (110.91–245.26)

and also less than those of Sharma et al. (2007)

19.54 (16.29–22.72)

(5.37–27.83 mg kg−1 ) in Varanasi, India. How-

11.18 (8.76–14.31)

13.81 (9.12–18.55)

10.79 (7.44–14.29)
3.70 (2.94–4.61)
2.18 (1.27–3.50)

ever, it was very close to the result obtained by

Liu et al. (2006) (0.08–15.38 mg kg−1 ) in vegeta-
Chilli (10)

bles in different parts of China. Accumulation of

Cd was highest in egg plant (2.91 mg kg−1 ) fol-
lowed by lady’s finger (2.81 mg kg−1 ) and tomato
b Indian standard (Awashthi 2000)

(2.39 mg kg−1 ) which exceeded the WHO limit by

335.38 (218.59–460.18)

approximately ten, nine, and eight times, respec-

22.76 (17.55–28.08)
11.97 (2.17–21.14)
6.27 (1.19–11.47)

tively. The present study revealed that the mean

8.63 (7.16–10.3)

2.91 (0.82–4.85)

4.62 (2.41–6.72)

Cd level (2.05–2.91 mg kg−1 ) measured in veg-

Egg plant (12)

n: number of samples

etables from DEPZ area, Dhaka was lower than

Plants (n)

the vegetables from Titagarh, West Bengal, India

c SEPA (2005)

(10.37–17.79 mg kg−1 ) (Gupta et al. 2008) and the

vegetables from endemic upper gastrointestinal
cancer region of Turkey (25 mg kg−1 ) (Turkdo-
Cu
Zn

Cd
Pb
Cr

Fe
Ni

gan et al. 2002) but higher than the vegetables

354
from China (0.03–0.73 mg kg−1 ) (Liu et al. 2005),
and significantly more than the vegetables from
Egypt (0.002–0.08 mg kg−1 ) (Dogheim et al. 2004),
whereas it was very close to the findings of Sharma
et al. (2007) (0.5–4.36 mg kg−1 ) in vegetables from
Varanasi, India. Mean Fe concentrations varied
from 146.29 to 350.28 mg kg−1 which was in good
agreement with concentrations (111–378 mg kg−1 )
observed in vegetables by Arora et al. (2008).
Maximum uptake of Fe was in tomato (350.28 mg
kg−1 ) followed by egg plant (335.38 mg kg−1 ) and
cabbage (290.70 mg kg−1 ), whereas the levels of
Fe in all the vegetables were above the prescribed
safe limit of WHO. The upper concentrations of
Fe in vegetables were also found very similar to
the values (2.11–336.9 mg kg−1 ) reported by Kisku
et al. (2000) for vegetables irrigated with mixed
industrial effluents in India. The data obtained for
Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd in cabbage and lady’s finger
were very comparable with the result reported
for the same vegetable species by Sharma et al.
(2008) in India. Maximum concentration of Ni
shown by cabbage, 23.68 mg kg−1 , was 15- and 2-
fold higher than the recommended safe limit of
PFA (Awashthi 2000) and of China (SEPA 2005),
respectively. Mean Ni concentrations in vegeta-
bles varied from 4.62 to 23.68 mg kg−1 which
were lower than the data reported for vegetables
in Titagarh, West Bengal, India by Gupta et al.
(2008). However, it was very similar to the findings
of Sharma et al. (2007) (1.81–7.57 mg kg−1 ) in
Varanasi, India and also of Rattan et al. (2005)
(8.78–21.5 mg kg−1 ) in Delhi, India. The exhi-
bition of spatial and temporal variations of all
the heavy metal concentration might be ascribed
to the variations in heavy metal sources and the
quantity of heavy metals discharged through
the effluents and sewage in irrigating water of
the study area.
Heavy metal transfer from soils to vegetables
Bioconcentration factor (BCF) or plant concen-
tration factor (PCF) is a parameter used to de-
scribe the transfer of trace elements from soil to
plant body. It is calculated as the ratio between the
concentration of heavy metals in the vegetables
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357
and that in the corresponding soil (all based on dry
weight) for each vegetable separately (Liu et al.
2006).
BCF or PCF = Cplant / Csoil , where Cplant and
Csoil represent the heavy metal concentration in
extracts of plants and soils on a dry weight basis,
respectively. The BCF or PCF value ranges were:
Cu 0.22–0.71, Zn 0.16–0.36, Pb 0.24–0.44, Cr 0.07–
0.16, Cd 0.18–0.25, Fe 0.08–0.20, and Ni 0.07–0.41.
The BCF value for Cu (0.71) of tomato was the
highest among all considered heavy metals which
was supported by the observation of Liu et al.
(2006). The trends of BCF for heavy metals in
different vegetables studied were in the order Cu
> Pb > Zn > Cd > Ni > Fe > Cr, which were
more or less similar to the result reported by Khan
et al. (2008) in Beijing, China. Although Cu con-
centrations in soils of the study area were below
the threshold levels of WHO and other authors,
the highest mean BCF value of Cu in vegetables
might be attributed to the exceedingly high con-
centration of Cu, 2.17 mg L−1 , in irrigation water
of the study area (Table 2). Moreover, the ex-
changeable and carbonated bound Cu, which were
considered readily and potentially bioavailable,
accounted for <10% of the total Cu in crop soils in
general (Wong et al. 2002). Therefore, enrichment
of vegetable for Cu might also be another pathway
except absorption from soils.
Of the five vegetable species, tomato (for Cu,
Cr, and Fe), cabbage (for Pb, Ni, and Zn), and
egg plant (for Cd) showed highest metal accu-
mulation. Vegetables differed in their ability to
accumulate and concentrate metals in their edible
parts; differences between them were significant
which was well supported from the studies carried
out by Sharma et al. (2006). The variations in
heavy metal concentrations in vegetables were
due to variations in their absorption and accu-
mulation tendency. Soil properties such as pH,
organic matter, cation exchange capacity (CEC),
redox potential, soil texture, and clay content may
also affect the heavy metal uptake (Overesch et al.
2007). The interaction between different heavy
metals occurs at root surface and also within the
plant, which ultimately affects the uptake and
translocation of heavy metals (Sharma et al. 2006).
The accumulation of heavy metals also depends
on plant age and plant parts (Liu et al. 2007).
Environ Monit Assess (2010) 166:347–357
Conclusions
There is no established tolerable/safe limit avail-
able for heavy metal in water, soil, and food
crops of Bangladesh. Therefore, the level of heavy
metals found in different sources of the present
study were compared with the prescribed safe
limit provided by WHO (1996), SEPA (2005),
and other authors. The mean concentrations of
heavy metals in soil and water were within the safe
limits. However, Cu, Fe, and Cd concentrations in
irrigation water were above and for Ni it was equal
to the safe limit set for the agricultural purpose
by WHO (Pescod 1992). Concentrations of all
the metals (mg kg−1 dry weight) in the studied
agricultural soil were below the permissible level
of Indian standard. The comparison of mean con-
centrations of heavy metal in examined soil with
that of typical uncontaminated soil reported by
(Bowen 1966) revealed that wastewater applica-
tion to agricultural soil has increased the levels of
Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe, and Ni (Table 3). The upper limits
of heavy metals in present soils were also higher
than the values reported by Temmerman et al.
(1984) and also by Kabata-Pendias and Pendias
(1992) (except for Pb and Cr).
All the vegetables containing heavy metals had
lower than recommended tolerable levels pro-
posed by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee
on Food Additives, with the exception of Cd
which exhibited elevated uptake. In comparison
with India (Awashthi 2000) and China standards
(SEPA 2005), the results revealed that Cu, Zn,
and Cr concentration in vegetables were within
the safe limit of India whereas Cu and Ni (only
for tomato), Pb, Cr, Cd, and Fe concentration
were found higher than the permissible level set
by SEPA. Among seven heavy metals studied in
vegetables, concentration of Fe was maximum and
mean concentration of the metals was found to be
in the order: Fe > Zn > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cr >
Cd. A summary of the results revealed that the
relationship of heavy metal contamination of the
food plants with that of water and soil is possibly
complicated due to emission effects of different
industries.
The results of the present study show an
analysis of heavy metal concentrations in veg-
etables grown in and around industrial areas of
355
Bangladesh. It is clear that an elevated level of
metal accumulation in edible parts of vegetable
plants is mainly from their growth media like
water and soil. Long-term consumption of these
metal-contaminated vegetables can cause differ-
ent diseases like thalassemia, dermatitis, brain and
kidney damage, and cancer in the human body.
Regular monitoring of these toxic heavy metals
from effluents and sewage, in vegetables, and in
other food materials is essential to prevent their
excessive build up in the food chain.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to place on
record sincere thanks to Dr. Didarul Alam and Dr. Abdul
Mtalib for their valuable help. The authors wish to ac-
knowledge the financial assistance of the Prime Minis-
ter’s Research Fund, Government of Peoples Republic of
Bangladesh for carrying out this research.
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