Concentration Level of Lead (Pb) in Plants and Soil of Faisalabad Irrigated with Waste Water

Mega cities have been experienced with a common practice of vegetable farms irrigated with waste water. Wastewater is a rich source of organic and inorganic material vital for the growth of plant along with heavy metals that might be fatal for humans and animals if the concentration of those metals exceeds from prescribed acceptable limits set by WHO. To screen this state, a study was carried out to determine the heavy metals accumulation heavy metals into the agricultural farms due to the irrigation with wastewater and their permutation in to the vegetables. For this purpose, during samples of vegetables (leaf edible portion), soil and waste water samples (Cauliflower, spinach and tomato) were collected from different area of Faisalabad district. The collected samples were processed to analyze contents of Pb. The results revealed that almost 100% of the wastewater samples were higher in Pb concentration than WHO acceptable limits while Pb concentration was in safe limit in soil samples, surprisingly. In vegetable, all the collected samples of leaf and fruit samples were polluted and heavy metals translocation was above than the WHO/FAO recommended tolerable limits. Another trend was found that leafy vegetables and leafy part of vegetables were affected with higher metal concentration as compared to the edible portion of the vegetables. Results revealed that continuous utilization of these waste water irrigated vegetables will definitely cause severe health issues especially in those areas where these vegetables are directly consumed by the local population