Assessing Soil Degradation and Risk in Relation to Metal Pollution in Hindon River Water-Irrigated Soils of Western Uttar Pradesh of India

Golui, Debasis; Dali, Manjunath; Singh, Rajendra; Datta, Siba Prasad; Mandal, Jajati; Ray, Prasenjit; Trivedi, Vivek Kumar; Gupta, Anand Kumar; Kumar, Rahul

Abstract

Soil degradation with metal pollution was assessed in polluted river water-irrigated soils. Human health risk from ingestion of metal by way of eating of edible portion of plants, raised on these soils, was predicted based on the free ion activity in contaminated soils followed by their movement to food-chain of human, using solubility-free ion activity model (FIAM). Soil quality index (SQI) was found to be lowest (PCA-SQI = 0.28) in river water-irrigated soils collected from Nithari and Barnawa village of Uttar Pradesh, India. Degree of soil health degradation due to metal accumulation as indicated by PCA-SQI follows the order: Nithari = Barnawa > Makreda > Rewari > Parsi > Kinauni. Plants grown on soils irrigated with river water showed higher accumulation of metals like zinc, copper, nickel, lead, and cadmium compared to plants raised on tube well-irrigated soils. Variation in metal content in plants grown in river as well tube well-irrigated soils could be successfully predicted by solubility-free ion activity model. Suitability of crops (rice grain, spinach, carrot, cucumber, pumpkin) as raised on river water-irrigated soils for human consumption was expressed in terms of hazard quotient, which were well within the safe limit.

Citation

Golui, D., Dali, M., Singh, R., Datta, S. P., Mandal, J., Ray, P., …Kumar, R. (2022). Assessing Soil Degradation and Risk in Relation to Metal Pollution in Hindon River Water-Irrigated Soils of Western Uttar Pradesh of India. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 233(5), https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05640-7

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 29, 2022
• Online Publication Date: May 11, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Deposit Date: Sep 2, 2023
• Journal: Water, Air, & Soil Pollution
• Print ISSN: 0049-6979
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-2932
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 233
• Issue: 5
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05640-7
• Keywords: Pollution; Water Science and Technology; Ecological Modeling; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Engineering