Original research article
Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals from the Agricultural Soil in South Herzegovina
2018, 83 (1) p. 45-50
Aida Šukalić, Nihada Ahmetović, Sejad Mačkić, Alma Leto, Ahmed Džubur, Boris Antunović
Abstract
Contamination of agricultural soils can present a significant risk to human health through oral ingestion, particle inhalation, and dermal contact. The aims of this research were to determinate the concentrations, distribution and human health risk of various heavy metals in soil samples from three agricultural areas of South Herzegovina. A total number of 32 soil samples were collected and analyzed for Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), and Zinc (Zn). The Hazard Index (HI) was used to assess the human health risk of the study area. For the adult and children population, the HI value for dermal exposure to Cobalt (Co) was greater than one (HI>1), and non-cancerogenic effects are therefore considered as significant for human health. Our findings impose consideration of taking risk management measures in order to reduce risk for human health from Cobalt (Co).
Keywords
heavy metals, soil, risk assessment
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