International Journal of Environmental Research (2018) 12:531–542

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RESEARCH PAPER

Heavy Metal Contamination of Irrigation Water, Soil,

and Vegetables in a Multi-industry District of Bangladesh
Minhaz Ahmed1 • Masaru Matsumoto2 • Kiyoshi Kurosawa2

Received: 24 January 2018 / Revised: 29 May 2018 / Accepted: 13 June 2018 / Published online: 19 June 2018
Ó University of Tehran 2018

Abstract
Heavy metal (Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb) concentrations in irrigation water, soil, and vegetables were measured to assess
the contamination levels in a multi-industry district in Bangladesh. In this district, wastewater discharged from three
industrial areas (textile, dye, agrochemical, paint and ceramics factories) was mixed with irrigation water. The Zn, Cu, Pb,
and Cr concentrations were high in both irrigation water and soil, and all of these concentrations exceeded the permissible
limits except for the Cd and Pb concentrations in irrigation water. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the irrigation water and
soil data revealed that the contamination of irrigation water and soil was caused by the discharge of industrial waste into
the irrigation water. The heavy metal concentrations in leafy vegetables were mostly below the FAO permissible limits,
whereas the As, Cr, and Pb concentrations in root vegetables exceeded the permissible limits. Correlation and cluster
analyses of the vegetable data showed that the use of contaminated irrigation water and soil might be responsible for the
heavy metal contamination in vegetables. According to the bioconcentration factor (BCF) in root vegetables, the transfer
from soil to vegetables of As, Cr, Zn, and Pb was moderate/low, whereas that of Cd and Cu was high. Since these root
vegetables were deemed unsafe for human consumption, this type of contamination should be considered more seriously
when planting root vegetables.

Keywords Industrial waste  Permissible limit  Vegetables  Bioconcentration factor  Multivariate analysis

Introduction Most heavy metals do not undergo microbial or chemical

degradation, which adversely affects soil health, and heavy
Heavy metal contamination of water, soil, and crops is a metals could contaminate the crops grown in such soils.
severe environmental problem affecting agricultural The main exposure route of humans to heavy metals is the
development worldwide. Such contamination results not irrigation water-soil-crop pathway.
only from natural processes such as acid rain, erosion, and Crops grown in contaminated soil accumulate consid-
rock weathering, but also from industrial activities, i.e., erable quantities of heavy metals, resulting in adverse
dumping of metallic waste, wastewater irrigation, mining health effects from ingestion of the crops. Heavy metals
activities, sewage sludge, and excessive use of chemical can be found in the tissues of crops, including vegeta-
fertilizers and pesticides (Khan et al. 2008; Zhang et al. bles and fruits. Although certain heavy metals are essential
2010). Irrigation with industrial wastewater is known to plant nutrients, plants grown in a contaminated environ-
have a significant impact on heavy metal contamination in ment accumulate high levels of heavy metals, causing a
agricultural soils (Mapanda et al. 2005; Nan et al. 2002). high prevalence of upper gastrointestinal cancer from
human ingestion (Turkdogan et al. 2002). Heavy metals are
very toxic because of their nonbiodegradable nature and
& Minhaz Ahmed
[email protected] their potential to accumulate in different body parts (Ah-
mad and Goni 2010). Vegetables cultivated in contami-
1
Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Global Society, nated soil take up heavy metals and accumulate them in
Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan their tissues, causing adverse clinical outcomes in humans
2
Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Kyushu University, because the human body has no mechanism by which to
Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

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532 International Journal of Environmental Research (2018) 12:531–542

eliminate them (Alam et al. 2003; Arora et al. 2008). brinjal, taro, kang kong, gourd, potato, okra, and tomato,
Yebpella et al. (2011) reported that the certain plant parts are sold in markets in the capital, Dhaka, and many people
(vegetables, fruits, and cereals) accumulate Pb, Cr, and Cu consume these vegetables.
at higher levels, whereas Tasrina et al. (2015) stated that Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb were selected as the target
vegetables that are grown in industrial areas often accu- heavy metals because of their high toxicity and persistence
mulate As, Cd and Pb in their tissues. in polluted wastewater usually sourced from industries.
The Gazipur District of Bangladesh is a suburban According to Lambert et al. (2000), wastewater contains
industrial area located 50 km away from the capital, most common heavy metals (with high toxicity), such as
Dhaka. Numerous industries, including garment, textile, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and
dye, aluminum, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, ceramic, pack- zinc, all of which pose risks to human health and the
aging, ordnance, and machining industries are located in environment.
this district. Effluents from these industries, discharged This study aimed to address the following questions: (1)
through deteriorated drainage pipes with few treatment What are the Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb concentrations in
operations, are possible sources of heavy metals in irrigation water, soil, and vegetables? (2) How different is
wastewater (Sharma et al. 2007). Many factories in the the contamination between the three industrial areas, and
Gazipur District dispose of their waste into nearby small what is the cause of this difference? (3) What is the
canals, lakes, and even rivers without any or little treat- relatedness of the heavy metal contamination of irrigation
ment, which is very harmful to the surrounding ecosystems water to that of soil and that of the soil contamination to
and environment. Previous studies have shown that the vegetable contamination?
surface water in the industrial area of Bangladesh is highly
contaminated with Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni (Ahmed et al.
2012). The heavy metals discharged from industries differ Materials and methods
depending on the raw materials used in the source industry.
The discharged effluents are mixed with irrigation water Description of the study area
and used for crop production in the local region. In this
study, three different industrial areas were targeted, and In the present study, the industrial areas of Banglabazar,
various industries were located in each area. Kashimpur, and Chandra, located in the Gazipur District
Crops grown in contaminated soil contain many heavy (25°150 000 N and 89°300 000 E), were targeted (Fig. 1). There
metals. The highest concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cr, Cu, and are various factories in these three areas. The Banglabazar
Pb were observed in soils around the industrial area of area consists of small-scale textile, dye, paint, ceramics,
Bangladesh (Goni et al. 2014). Heavy metals more easily food processing, metallurgical, and battery factories. The
accumulate in the edible parts of leafy vegetables than in Kashimpur area consists of garment, fabric, plastic, agro-
the fruit or grain of crops (Liu et al. 2005). Use of chemical, and pesticide factories. The Chandra area
untreated wastewater for irrigation causes the transfer of includes agrochemical, fabric printing, pharmaceutical,
Pb, Cd, and Ni from the roots to the edible parts of veg- textile, poultry feed and fish feed factories. In each area,
etables, posing a long-term health risk in India (Sharma industrial effluents are discharged into canals, and canal
et al. 2007). In Bangladesh, Tasrina et al. (2015) pointed waters are used for irrigation.
out that the Pb concentration was high in vegetables due to The Gazipur District has a tropical, wet climate and a
wastewater application in agriculture, whereas plant roots dry, savanna climate, according to the Köppen-Geiger
acted as a barrier to the transfer of heavy metals from soil climate classification. The annual average rainfall in the
to vegetables. district is 2036 mm; however, the seasonal rainfall is far
In the present study, vegetables grown using contami- higher in summer (1916 mm) than in winter (120 mm).
nated irrigation water were targeted. In many previous The annual average air temperature in the district is
studies on the heavy metal contamination of plants, veg- 25.8 °C. The landforms of the district are upland, dissected
etables were targeted less than rice; however, irrigation terraces associated with either broad or shallow, deep
water contaminated with heavy metals is frequently used valleys through a dendritic drainage pattern (Huq and
for vegetable planting in Bangladesh and probably con- Shoaib 2013). Gazipur soils consist of highly weathered
taminating the vegetables. Ahmad and Goni (2010) Madhupur clay, distributed over an agro-ecological region
reported high levels of Cu, Cr, Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe and Cd in of the Madhupur Tract in Bangladesh (UNDP/FAO 1988).
vegetables grown around the industrial area of Bangladesh. Eleven soil types are distributed in the district, among
In this context, the consumption of contaminated crops which deep to shallow red-brown terrace soils and nutrient-
grown near industrial sites is a potential human health poor acidic basin clays (i.e., Entisols in US soil taxonomy)
concern. Many vegetables planted in the study area, e.g., are dominant (UNDP/FAO 1988).

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Fig. 1 Location of the sampling points in the study area of Gazipur District, Bangladesh

Sampling of irrigation water, soil, and vegetables planted in the agricultural season in Bangladesh named
Kharif 1, which is a planting period from March to July
Irrigation water, soil, and vegetables were sampled in June- (Diary Krishi 2015).
July 2015. Irrigation water (36 samples) was collected These vegetables were placed in polyethylene bags and
randomly from 12 locations in each area. Water (500 mL) brought to the laboratory. The samples were shaken by
sampled from irrigation canals was stored in airtight ster- hand to remove soils and washed with tap water followed
ilized plastic bottles and transported to the laboratory. The by deionized water. The samples were then divided into
samples were filtered through Whatman No. 42 filter paper, root, stem, leaf and fruit parts, and these parts were first air-
and a drop of HNO3 (65%) was added to the water to dried and then dried in a hot air oven at 60 °C for 48 h until
reduce the pH to below two for preservation. The samples a constant weight was achieved. Finally, the samples were
were placed in cleaned acid-washed 20 mL plastic bottles ground uniformly with a grinder.
and preserved in a refrigerator at 4 °C until analysis.
Similar to the irrigation water, soil samples (36 samples) Sample Analysis
were collected from 12 locations adjacent to the points of
irrigation water sampling in each area. At each soil sam- The irrigation water samples were diluted with deionized
pling location, the topsoil layer (0–15 cm) was removed water. For the soil samples, 1 g of soil was digested by the
from the vegetable bed using an auger, and the soil was wet digestion method (US EPA method 3050B; USEPA
packed into a plastic Ziploc bag and transported to the 1996). The digested solution (approximately 5 mL) was
laboratory. At room temperature, the samples were air- filtered through filter paper (No. 5B, 125 mm, Advantec,
dried for 7 days. After drying, the samples were ground Tokyo, Japan) and diluted to 100 mL with deionized water.
with a mortar and pestle and sieved through a 2 mm sieve For the vegetable samples, a 0.5 g sample was digested
for subsequent analysis. with concentrated HNO3 and 30% H2O2 at 120–130 °C for
For vegetables, the five most common vegetables, viz., 14–16 h (UWLAB 2005). After digestion, the solution was
taro (Colocasia esculenta), kang kong (Ipomoea reptans), filtered through filter paper (No. 5B, 125 mm, Advantec,
helencha (Enhydra fluctuans), brinjal (Solanum melon- Tokyo, Japan) and diluted to 50 mL with deionized water.
gena) and sponge gourd (Luffa acutangula), were collected All of these diluted solutions were carefully stored in a
randomly from nine vegetable beds in each area, and a total refrigerator at 4 °C before analysis. All chemical reagents
of 27 samples were collected. These vegetables were used in this study were of analytical grade, and double-

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deionized water (Milli-Q, Millipore, 18.2 MX/cm; Thermo ranged from 7.23 to 22.9 mg/L, which was lower than the
Scientific, USA) was used for all dilutions. concentrations (9.781–50.02 mg/L) detected in the Savar
industrial area of Bangladesh by Faisal et al. (2014) and
Instrumental Analysis and Quality Control higher than the Zn concentration in the Kurigram District,
Bangladesh (Rahman et al. 2015). The average Cu con-
Heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb) in centration ranged from 1.43 to 6.04 mg/L, with the highest
the irrigation water and the solutions from soil and veg- value in Chandra, and the Cr concentration ranged from
etable digestion were analyzed by inductively coupled 0.45 to 0.92 mg/L, with the highest value in Kashimpur.
plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS; Agilent 7500 ce, The mean Cu and Cr concentrations were much higher than
Agilent Technologies, USA) at the Center of Advanced previous levels determined in Bangladesh and India (Ah-
Instrumental Analysis, Kyushu University, Japan. The mad and Goni 2010; Gupta et al. 2008; Sharma et al. 2007),
detection limits of the target heavy metals were as follows: but the mean Cr concentration was lower than that in the
Cr, 0.02 lg/L; Cu, 0.03 lg/L; Zn, 0.06 lg/L; As, 0.05 lg/ previous report of Faisal et al. (2014) (5.04 mg/L). The
L; Cd, 0.04 lg/L; and Pb, 0.03 lg/L. The multielement mean Pb and As concentrations varied from 0.35 to
standard W–X (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Japan) for 1.75 mg/L and from 0.16 to 0.62 mg/L, respectively, and
ICP-MS analysis was used to prepare calibration curves for were much higher than the mean concentrations reported
the target elements. External standard solutions and extract by Ahmed et al. (2012). A comparison of the mean heavy
solutions were diluted with 0.1 N HNO3 to fit into the metal concentrations in wastewater determined in other
calibration range and reduce matrix interferences. Blank countries suggests that the concentrations determined in the
samples (0.1 N HNO3) were run after every six determi- present study were many-fold higher than those in South
nations. A 1.0 lg/L multielement tuning solution (Agilent Africa (Malan et al. 2014) and India (Gowd and Govil
Technologies, USA) was used to cover a wide range of 2008). According to Fig. 2a, the mean concentrations and
masses of trace elements. Every test was assessed using an variation of Zn (10.70 mg/L) and Cu (3.93 mg/L) were
internal quality approach and validated if the defined very high. In contrast, Pb (0.82 mg/L), Cr (0.74 m/L), As
internal quality controls (IQCs) were satisfied. (0.33 mg/L) and Cd (0.008 mg/L) showed moderate to low
levels of variation. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cr,
Statistical Analysis and As in each area exceeded the FAO’s permissible limits
for irrigation purposes. The average Cd concentration did
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 21 not exceed but was close to the FAO’s permissible limit,
(SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL), was used to test the normality of and only the Pb concentration was below the permissible
data using the Shapiro–Wilk and Kolmogorov–Smirnov limit (5.0 mg/L) (Table 1).
tests. Then, basic statistical parameters and correlation From the results of Fig. 2a, the standard deviation of the
coefficients for the heavy metal concentrations in the irri- heavy metal concentrations was highest for Zn and Cu,
gation water, soil and vegetables were calculated. Origin followed by Pb and subsequently Cr. Discharge of factory
Pro 8 software was used for the graphical presentation of waste into canals was observed at many places, and heavy
data. Relatedness between heavy metal concentrations was metal concentrations may differ depending on the type
analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) with factory waste, resulting in these tendencies. According to
Ward’s method for irrigation water, soils, and vegetables. Sharma et al. (2007), the heavy metal concentrations in
All results were considered statistically significant at wastewater depend on the manufacturing process of the
P \ 0.05. product and the raw materials used by the industry.
Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to visu-
alize the relatedness of heavy metal concentrations in the
Results and Discussion irrigation water and to estimate the possible sources of the
metals (Chen et al. 2010). Figure 2b shows a dendrogram
Heavy Metal Contamination of Irrigation Water of the HCA results (Ward linkage), where the As, Cd, and
Cr concentrations formed a cluster that was a part of
The mean concentrations and range of heavy metals in the another cluster with the Pb concentration. At a later stage,
irrigation water are shown in Table 1. Out of the six heavy the Pb concentration showed a moderate relatedness to the
metals, Zn had the highest concentration (22.9 mg/L) in Cu concentration, constituting a larger cluster. The Zn
Chandra, followed by Kashimpur (13.5 mg/L) and Ban- concentration was found to have a weak relatedness to the
glabazar (10.4 mg/L), whereas the Cd concentration was other heavy metal concentrations. Heavy metals belonging
lowest (0.001 mg/L) in Kashimpur. The mean Zn con- to the same cluster are thought to originate from the same
centrations in each area were similar. The Zn concentration source. Faisal et al. (2014) used the same method of HCA

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Table 1 Heavy metal concentrations in the irrigation water (mg/L), soil (mg/kg) and vegetables (mg/kg) from the three target areas in the
Gazipur District, Bangladesh
Matrix Area Cr Cu Zn As Cd Pb
Mean (range)

Irrigation water Banglabazar 0.45 1.43 8.6 (7.23–10.4) 0.62 0.007 1.75
(n = 36) (0.17–0.87) (0.58–2.18) (0.25–1.58) (0.002–0.015) (0.58–4.14)
Kashimpur 0.92 4.33 9.86 0.20 0.009 0.35
(0.44–1.94) (1.94–10.1) (8.38–13.5) (0.06–0.78) (0.001–0.033) (0.14–0.52)
Chandra 0.85 6.04 13.7 0.16 0.009 0.36
(0.23–1.41) (1.24–13.3) (7.51–22.9) (0.03–0.61) (0.002–0.031) (0.25–0.50)
Permissible 0.1 0.2 2.0 0.1 0.01 5.0
limita
Soil (n = 36) Banglabazar 48.98 28.93 146.5 9.75 0.188 30.79
(39.51–62.75) (17.22–38.22) (85.9–262.8) (5.01–18.11) (0.042–1.014) (25.02–41.68)
Kashimpur 56.69 40.37 145.2 8.39 0.165 26.32
(38.35–70.14) (30.15–50.68) (86.5–221.6) (4.43–12.23) (0.045–0.438) (20.14–29.22)
Chandra 51.12 34.50 150.7 6.48 0.185 29.68
(43.07–56.67) (21.67–43.96) (87.6–252.7) (4.56–9.21) (0.034–0.356) (24.49–41.02)
Permissible 100 100 200 5 1 60
limitb
Vegetables (n = 27) Banglabazar 4.34 12.91 54.13 1.07 0.143 8.10
(0.56–14.07) (8.31–20.3) (24.46–114.7) (0.17–2.31) (0.025–0.739) (1.52–18.04)
Kashimpur 8.04 23.98 44.82 0.63 0.097 5.03
(1.05–23.6) (8.51–67.64) (22.91–85.82) (0.05–2.03) (0.011–0.408) (0.78–11.49)
Chandra 4.39 12.85 56.39 0.69 0.147 4.98
(0.58–12.95) (4.27–18.92) (35.66–108.4) (0.07–1.91) (0.014–0.374) (2.38–11.01)
Permissible 5 40 60 1 0.3 5
limitc
a
FAO standard (Ayers and Westcot 1985)
b
Ministry of the Environment Finland (2007)
c
FAO/WHO standard (Codex Alimentarious Commission 1984)

Fig. 2 Box-and-whisker plot (a) and dendrogram (b) of the heavy metal concentrations in irrigation water

to identify the common sources of heavy metals in observed: (1) Zn, Pb, Ni and Mn and (2) Fe, As and Cr.
groundwater samples. These authors concluded that there There are various factories, including textile, dye, paint,
were two sources on the basis of the two distinct clusters plastics, ceramics, fabric printing, battery, and

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agrochemical factories, in the study area. In these factories, sites (no significant differences) in Gazipur, in good
heavy metals such as Cu, Zn, Cr, Pd, Cd, Ni, Fe, and Mn agreement with the present study. The absence of signifi-
are frequently used in the manufacturing processes and cant differences in the heavy metal concentrations in soil in
released as waste, and these heavy metals are the primary the different areas may be attributed to the regular uptake
sources of heavy metals in contaminated irrigation water of trace metals by vegetables during their growth and
(Islam et al. 2009; Appelo and Postma 1996). development (Sharma et al. 2007).
According to the results of Fig. 3a, the Zn concentration
Distribution of Contaminated Samples (147.5 mg/kg) was the highest, on average, followed by the
Cr (52.3 mg/kg), Cu (34.6 mg/kg), Pb (28.9 mg/kg) and As
Three industrial study areas (Banglabazar, Kashimpur, and (8.2 mg/kg) concentrations, and the Cd concentration
Chandra) were heavily polluted with untreated wastewater, (0.18 mg/kg) was the lowest on average. The mean Cr con-
and the extent of pollution varied significantly (two-way centration was similar to that in the earlier report by Goni
ANOVA analysis, P \ 0.01). The effluents were directly et al. (2014) (51.22 mg/kg) in the DEPZ area of Bangladesh
discharged into nearby canals and water bodies and thought but higher than that in a nonindustrial site in Pabna reported
to severely pollute the surrounding environment and aquatic by Tasrina et al. (2015). However, the mean concentrations
ecosystem. The polluted canal waters are regularly used for of Cu, Pb, and Cd were lower, and that of Zn was higher than
irrigation purposes. The Kashimpur area, where Cr and Cr the reported values of Goni et al. (2014). In comparison with
compounds are used to add color and pigments to garments other countries, the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu were
and in plastics and agrochemical factories, was highly con- much lower than those in Vietnam (Thanh et al. 2013).
taminated with Cr and Cd. Banglabazar was polluted with Similarly, the As and Cd concentrations were lower than
highly toxic As and Pb. Paint, ceramics, textile, dye, metal- those determined China (Chang et al. 2014). However, in
lurgical and battery factories are the common sources of As South Africa, the soil Cd concentration was 3-fold higher
and Pb in Banglabazar. Among the heavy metals, the Cu and than that in the present study, whereas the Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cr
Zn concentrations were higher in Chandra, which received concentrations were lower (Malan et al. 2014). The con-
wastewater from fabric printing, pharmaceutical, agro- centrations of these heavy metals, except As, were below the
chemical, poultry feed and fish feed factories. permissible limits set by the EU (Ministry of the Environ-
ment Finland 2007). In addition, the soil heavy metal con-
Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil centrations were below the safe limits set in the Indian
Standard (Awashthi 2000). According to the permissible
The heavy metal concentrations (mg/kg) in soil ranged limits, the soil in this area is safe for agricultural purposes,
from 38.35 to 70.14 for Cr, 17.22 to 50.68 for Cu, 85.9 to but the heavy metal concentrations in vegetables are higher
262.8 for Zn, 4.43 to 18.11 for As, 0.034 to 1.014 for Cd than the permissible limits for plants, as mentioned later. In
and 20.14 to 41.68 for Pb (Table 1). Compared to the the study area, vegetables are regularly irrigated with con-
concentrations in the earlier report of Sultana et al. (2017), taminated wastewater, which is easily taken up by vegeta-
the concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, and Pb in the present bles for growth purposes. Slavin and Lloyd (2012) reported
study were similar, the Cr concentration in the present that leafy vegetables contain 84.3–94.7% water and root
study was lower, and the Zn concentration in the present vegetables contain 62.3–94.6% water; thus, soil heavy metal
study was higher. The highest mean concentrations (mg/ contamination still deserves attention.
kg) of Cr (56.69) and Cu (40.37) were recorded in The order of magnitude of the heavy metal concentra-
Kashimpur, whereas the highest As (9.75), Cd (0.188) and tions in the soil followed a similar order to that in the
Pd (30.79) concentrations were found in Banglabazar, irrigation water, except for Cr, Cu, and Pb. Namely, the Zn
indicating that these sites were more polluted than the concentration was highest, and the concentrations of As
others. The Zn (150.71 mg/kg) concentration was highest and Cd were low, suggesting that the soil contamination
in the Chandra area, followed by Banglabazar and then by was caused by the contaminated irrigation water.
Kashimpur. The box and whisker plots (Fig. 3a) summa- Concerning the order of the concentrations, the soil Cr,
rize the basic statistics for the heavy metal concentrations Cu and Pb concentrations were different from the con-
in all areas, and no significant differences were observed centrations in irrigation water. Therefore, some factors
among the areas in terms of these concentrations. might be differentially affecting the contamination levels.
According to Zakir et al. (2015), the Gazipur District is one Dudal et al. (2005) stated that soil temperature, residue
of the most important industrial areas of Bangladesh, where incorporation, and soil management influence the content
the surface water and soil quality have been deteriorated by of organic matter, which is related to the soil capacity for
the disposal of industrial waste. These authors also reported heavy metal retention. These authors also mentioned that
high Zn, Cu, Cr, and Pb concentrations in soil from other the mobility of heavy metals with soluble organic matter

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Fig. 3 Box-and-whisker plot (a) and dendrogram (b) of the heavy metal concentrations in soils

might be affected by high-precipitation events. On the Cu concentrations were highest in the Kashimpur area,
other hand, soil physical and chemical characteristics followed by Chandra and then by Banglabazar. The highest
influence the movement and bioavailability of heavy met- As, Cd, and Pb concentrations were observed in Bangla-
als, which depend not only on the heavy metal concen- bazar, whereas the highest Zn concentration was observed
tration but also on environmental factors, precipitation in Chandra. The above site-specific variations in the heavy
reactions, adsorption–desorption characteristics of soils metal concentrations in vegetables were similar to the
and trace metal properties (Cuevas and Walter 2004; Li variations in the soil heavy metal concentrations. The
et al. 2003). average heavy metal concentrations (mg/kg) in the veg-
Figure 3b shows a dendrogram of the heavy metal etables were as follows: Zn (51.8), Cu (16.6), Pb (6.04), Cr
concentrations in soil. A cluster formed between As and (5.6) and As (0.80). The lowest concentration was of Cd
Cd, which is similar to the cluster of As, Cd, and Cr in the (0.13 mg/kg). A similar variation in the heavy metal con-
dendrogram of the irrigation water data. Another strong centration in vegetables was reported by Ratul et al. (2018)
cluster was formed between Cu and Pd in soil, and the Pb in the Narayanganj District of Bangladesh. Malan et al.
and Cu concentrations in irrigation water showed a weak (2014) also reported a high concentration of Zn, followed
relatedness to the cluster of soil Pb and Cu. Based on these by Mn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Cd, in vegetables from Western
results, As and Cd were thought to originate from the same Cape Province, South Africa. The mean Zn concentration
source, and Cu and Pd were from another source. Hu et al. (27.68–102.9 mg/kg) (Fig. 4) was higher than that in the
(2013) also presented a soil cluster analysis for an indus- DEPZ area of Bangladesh (19.54–42.06 mg/kg) (Ahmad
trial area in China and reported that anthropogenic activi- and Goni 2010), similar to that in South Africa
ties were the primary source of Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn. The (30.55–73.52 mg/kg) (Malan et al. 2014), and substantially
cluster of Cu and Pd, which formed another cluster asso- lower than that in Harare, Zimbabwe (1038–1872 mg/kg)
ciated with Cr at a later stage, showed moderate related- (Tandi et al. 2004). The mean Cr, Cu, Pb, and Cd con-
ness. On the other hand, Zn showed a weak relatedness to centrations (mg/kg) varied from 1.23 to 16.87, 9.97 to
other heavy metals in soil, which was similar to the relat- 32.83, 2.73 to 10.10 and 0.04 to 0.31, respectively, where
edness in the dendrogram of the irrigation water data. the concentrations of Cr (3.70–9.03) and Cu (8.63–27.94)
These similarities between the soil and irrigation water were very close to the results obtained by Ahmad and Goni
heavy metal concentrations indicated that the use of (2010) but the concentrations of Pb (11.97–22.09) and Cd
wastewater for irrigation might be responsible for the high (2.05–2.91) were considerably lower than those obtained
heavy metal contamination in the soil. by Ahmad and Goni (2010). On the other hand, the mean
Cd concentrations in vegetables were comparable with the
Heavy Metal Contamination in Vegetables findings of Malan et al. (2014) (0.001–0.57 mg/kg), and the
Pb concentrations were higher than those in this same
The heavy metal concentrations in the vegetables varied report (0.01–4.14 mg/kg). The average As (0.13–2.08 mg/
widely with the type of vegetable and the location, as kg) concentrations in vegetables were similar to those in
shown in Table 1. According to Table 1, the mean Cr and the report of Mishra et al. (2014) (0.74–2.40 mg/kg).

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Fig. 4 Heavy metal Cr Cu Zn As Cd Pb

H. metal concentraon (mg/kg)

concentrations (± standard
errors of the mean) in different 180
vegetables 160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Taro Shoot
Taro Root
Kkong Leaf
Kkong Shoot
Kkong Root

Taro Shoot
Taro Root
Kkong Leaf
Kkong Shoot
Kkong Root

Taro Shoot
Taro Root
Kkong Leaf
Kkong Shoot
Kkong Root
Taro Leaf

Helencha

Taro Leaf

Helencha

Taro Leaf

Helencha
Brinjal

Sgourd

Brinjal

Sgourd

Brinjal

Sgourd
Banglabazar Kashimpur Chandra

Comparison of the results of the present study with the from the same area, and then by taro root (66.7 mg/kg)
previous findings of Sultana et al. (2017) in Gazipur from Chandra. Taro leaf contained the lowest Zn concen-
revealed similar concentration ranges of Pb and Cd in tration (22.9 mg/kg) in the Kashimpur area.
vegetables; however, the levels of Cr, Cu, and As were The Cr and Cu concentrations in taro root and kang kong
higher, and the level of Zn was lower in the present study root were high in Kashimpur; however, the Pb and Cd
than the previously reported range. The variations between concentrations were high in Banglabazar. In brinjal, the
two studies may be due to differences in the site charac- concentrations of As and Cd were high in Kashimpur but
teristics, soil collection frequencies, and types of crops low in Banglabazar. On the other hand, the Cr and Cu
under cultivation. concentrations were high in brinjal from Banglabazar.
The Zn, Cu, As and Cd concentrations, on average, were Sponge gourd contained high As and Cd concentrations in
below the permissible limit recommended by FAO/WHO, Chandra and low As and Cd concentrations in Kashimpur,
as shown in Table 1. Only the Pb and Cr concentrations whereas the Cu and Pb concentrations in Sponge gourd
exceeded the recommended level. However, the revised were high in Banglabazar. Regarding the total concentra-
permissible limits from the FAO (FAO/WHO 2011) indi- tion of all heavy metals, helencha contained the highest
cated that the Pb, Cr, Zn, and As concentrations in the concentration in all three areas; the concentration in kang
studied vegetables were not safe. The above result is of kong root was the second highest in all three areas; and the
serious concern. Long-term exposure to heavy metals sponge gourd, brinjal and taro leaf concentrations were low
through vegetable consumption could interfere with several in the three areas. The small SDs of the vegetable concen-
biochemical processes in humans (Anhwange et al. 2013). trations in the upper part of the bar graph (Fig. 4) indicate
Although Zn helps metalloenzymes function in the human no significant differences between the areas.
body, excess uptake of Zn can deteriorate blood vessels, In terms of the differences in root, leafy and fruiting
alter cholesterol metabolism, damage the kidneys, cause vegetables, the total heavy metal concentration was the
diarrhea, etc. (DuPuy and Mermel 1995). On the other highest in root vegetables, followed by leafy and then by
hand, Pb, Cr and As have no beneficial effects on human fruiting vegetables (Fig. 5). Root vegetables grown in the
health. High levels of Pb can weaken human physiological soil are thought to be more heavily contaminated than leafy
systems, including renal, neurological and immunological and fruiting vegetables that are grown in close contact with
functions (Gidlow 2004). High doses of Cr cause liver and soil. Taro root has a short underground stem, while kang
kidney damage (Mugica et al. 2002), while high As levels kong root is has roots developed from nodes. Both plants
may cause skin cancer (Pershagen 1981). grow in moist soils, making these vegetables easily con-
taminated with heavy metals when the soil moisture is
Levels of Heavy Metal Contaminants in Each Type provided by irrigation water that contains high levels of
of Vegetable heavy metals. The Cr, Pb and As concentrations in root
vegetables exceeded the FAO/WHO permissible limits
The heavy metal concentrations in vegetables from Ban- (Fig. 5), indicating that these vegetables are unsuitable for
glabazar, Kashimpur, and Chandra areas are illustrated in human consumption.
Fig. 4. The highest Zn concentration (114.7 mg/kg) was Correlations between the heavy metal concentrations in
observed in helencha from Banglabazar, followed by kang all vegetables are shown in Table 2. Here, positive corre-
kong root (66.9 mg/kg) and kang kong shoot (61.1 mg/kg) lations were observed for Cr–Cu, Cr–Zn, Cr–As, Cr–Pb,

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International Journal of Environmental Research (2018) 12:531–542 539

Fig. 5 Heavy metal Cr Cu Zn As Cd Pb

concentrations (± standard

H. metal concentraon
errors of the mean) in different 150
types of vegetables

(mg/kg)
100

50

0
Leaf Root Fruit Leaf Root Fruit Leaf Root Fruit
Banglabazar Kashimpur Chandra

Cu–Pb, Zn–As, Zn–Cd, Zn–Pb, and As–Pd with signifi-

cance levels of 0.05 or 0.01. Xu et al. (2013) reported that a
correlation between heavy metal concentrations may be an
indication of identical heavy metal accumulation properties
in a vegetable species. However, a significant correlation
between heavy metal concentrations also suggests that the
heavy metals have the same source, as mentioned by
Abbasi et al. (2013).
The cluster analysis results for the heavy metal con-
centrations in vegetables are shown in Fig. 6. According to
the results in Fig. 6, the As and Cd concentrations formed a
cluster, indicating a relatedness of these two heavy metals.
Similarly, another cluster was formed between the Cr and
Pd concentrations. The clusters of As-Cd and Cr–Pb were
linked together, creating another large cluster that also
included Cu. The distance of the Zn branch from the cluster
of the other heavy metals was long, indicating its weak Fig. 6 Dendrogram of the heavy metal concentrations in vegetables
relatedness with the other heavy metals. The clusters
obtained with the heavy metal concentrations in the veg- industrial wastewater. The heavy metals observed in the
etables were consistent with those in irrigation water but vegetables in the present study (Fig. 6) might have origi-
had little similarity with those in soil. This means that the nated mainly from textile, dye, pharmaceutical, and pesti-
heavy metals in the vegetables originated mainly from the cide factories.
irrigation water that was applied to the soil to the grow
vegetables. Seid-mohammadi et al. (2014) also reported Heavy Metal Transfer from Soil to Vegetables
high Pb, Cr, and Cd concentrations in vegetables irrigated
with wastewater. The transfer of heavy metals from soil to vegetables can be
According to Islam et al. (2009), the heavy metals described by the bioconcentration factor (BCF), which is
contained in vegetables are thought to originate from calculated as the ratio of the heavy metal concentration in
vegetables to that in the soil (based on dry weight) (Li et al.
Table 2 Correlation coefficients (r) for the heavy metal concentra- 2012).
tions in all vegetables The BCFs of the heavy metals ranged from 0.01-0.37 for
Cr, 0.11–1.33 for Cu, 0.15–0.98 for Zn, 0.01–0.36 for As,
Correlations Cr Cu Zn As Cd
0.22–1.04 for Cd and 0.03–0.64 for Pb across all vegeta-
Cu 0.48* bles. The mean BCF in all vegetables was highest for Cd
Zn 0.51** 0.32 and Cu, followed by Zn, Pb, Cr and As. This order is
As 0.46* 0.08 0.59** similar to that in the report by Khan et al. (2008), who
Cd 0.31 0.21 0.55** 0.21 researched the BCFs in an industrial area of China.
Pb 0.52** 0.38* 0.45* 0.80** 0.31 The BCFs were higher for Cd, Cu, and Zn than for the
*Significant at the 0.05 level, **Significant at the 0.01 level
other heavy metals and varied widely with the type of
vegetable. A higher BCF indicates that a heavy metal can

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540 International Journal of Environmental Research (2018) 12:531–542

Table 3 Heavy metal’s bioconcentration factor (dry weight basis) for vegetables in the study area
Vegetables Cr Cu Zn As Cd Pb
Mean (range)

Root and Taro (n = 9) 0.12 0.48 0.25 0.08 0.57 0.26

leafy (0.02–0.32) (0.24–1.33) (0.15–0.29) (0.02–0.18) (0.22–1.04) (0.05–0.64)
K. kong (n = 9) 0.16 0.51 0.38 0.12 0.54 0.21
(0.02–0.37) (0.27–0.87) (0.22–0.53) (0.01–0.35) (0.24–0.97) (0.08–0.43)
Helencha 0.08 0.49 0.77 0.29 0.44 0.24
(n = 3) (0.05–0.13) (0.28–0.62) (0.65–0.98) (0.22–0.36) (0.40–0.48) (0.15–0.36)
Fruiting Brinjal (n = 3) 0.03 0.43 0.22 0.03 0.65 0.10
(0.01–0.05) (0.11–0.84) (0.20–0.25) (0.01–0.05) (0.42–0.82) (0.07–0.17)
S. gourd (n = 3) 0.02 0.34 0.44 0.02 0.69 0.11
(0.01–0.04) (0.25–0.51) (0.41–0.51) (0.01–0.03) (0.53–0.86) (0.03–0.20)

highly accumulate in vegetables, particularly in root and vegetables than in fruiting vegetables. In taro roots (high
leafy vegetables (Chumbley and Unwin 1982; Cui et al. accumulators), the Pb, Cr and As concentrations exceeded
2004). According to the BCFs in fruiting vegetables, lim- the permissible limits set by the FAO/WHO, and the veg-
ited amounts of heavy metals were thought to be absorbed etables were identified as unsuitable for human
in the fruit (Table 3). The BCF of Cu (1.33) in taro was the consumption.
highest among all the heavy metals. A high BCF of Cu was Cluster analysis and correlation analysis showed that the
also observed by Liu et al. (2006) in tomato. The Cu irrigation water, soil, and vegetables were contaminated
concentration in soil was below the permissible limit set by mainly by the industrial activities in the study area. The
the European Union (Ministry of the Environment Finland irrigation water, soil, and vegetables in the Chandra area
2007), but the average Cu concentration (3.93 mg/L) in were highly contaminated with Zn, receiving effluents from
irrigation water (Table 1) exceeded the safe limit, which Zn-based industries such as agrochemical factories. The Cr
probably produced the high Cu concentration in vegetables. and Cu concentrations were highest in Kashimpur soil due
The high BCF of Cd indicated a high transfer capacity from to contamination from textile, dye, sewage and agro-
soil to vegetables. The competition between Cd2? and chemical factories. The Banglabazar area was mostly
Ca2? can be attributed to this situation (Chang et al. 2014). affected by As, Cd and Pb contamination of soil and veg-
Due to their same ionic radius and valence state, Ca2? can etables, where paint, ceramic, metallurgical industries
be more easily replaced by Cd2? than by other metals (Kim dispose of their waste without treatment.
et al. 2002; Hart et al. 2002). In addition, most heavy The box plot of the soil data showed a high Zn con-
metals (as nonessential elements) can only enter plant tis- centration, followed by the concentrations of Cr, Cu, and
sues passively (e.g., by concentration diffusion and per- Pb, which enhanced the concentrations of these metals in
meation), but the essential element Ca enters plant tissues vegetables. The mean bioconcentration factor of the heavy
by active transport (Costa and Morel 1993). According to metals indicated that wastewater-irrigated vegetables were
Tester (1990), Cd can also enter plant tissues through Ca strongly enriched with Cd, Cu and Zn from soil.
channels. On the other hand, the reduction of Cr(VI) to
Cr(III) (which usually occurs in moist soil) might be Acknowledgements The authors want to express their sincere
appreciation to the related authorities of Kyushu University, Japan
attributed to the low bioavailability of Cr, as the transfor- and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University
mation of Cr(VI) to low-solubility cationic forms occurs (BSMRAU), Bangladesh for providing the laboratory facilities during
through reduction (Lee et al. 2005). our research work. The authors also wish their gratitude to Dr. Aki-
nori Ozaki, Assistant Professor of Institute of Tropical Agriculture,
Kyushu University for his support of sample import from Bangladesh
to Japan with permission, and for his guidance in analyzing the
Conclusions samples by using ICP-MS instrument.

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