0023-6152

AA00697606

7340475

The study focused on examining heavy metal contamination (chromium, copper, nickel, cadmium, and lead) in the irrigation water, soil and vegetables of Narayanganj industrial area, Bangladesh. This region faces potential environmental pollution due to various industries discharging wastewater into nearby irrigation canals, which could contaminate the soil. This study was to assess the heavy metal concentration in water, soil and vegetables and to enhance the ecological and health risk assessment by exploring various methodologies. Soil and vegetable samples were collected from various sites that received wastewater from different disposal systems. In most cases, the prevalent contaminants were found to be Cr, Cu, and Ni, followed by Pb and Cd in irrigation water, soil and vegetables. The assessment using the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) indicated that the area ranged from moderately to heavily contaminated, particularly concerning Cd and Ni concentration. The pollution load index (PLI) results suggested slight to moderate contamination. Moreover, the potential ecological risk index (RI) posed a very high risk to the environment signifying the need for monitoring and remedial measures to mitigate any adverse impacts. For the high heavy metal concentrations in vegetables, a high bio–concentration factor of vegetables (mostly >20 %) might be responsible. Despite that the soil’s concentrations were in permissible level, the higher vegetable’s concentrations such as Cr, Cd and Pb in Narayanganj than the standard level were observed causing serious health effect. Furthermore, the health risk index was calculated to assess the potential health risk by consuming vegetables. The results showed that the vegetables grown in the study areas were assessed unsafe for human consumption due to high heavy metals concentrations.