ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Environmental Monitoring of Heavy-Metals
Status and Human Health Risk Assessment
in the Soil of Sahl El-Hessania Area, Egypt
Ahmed A. Abdelhafez1, Mohamed H. H. Abbas2, Tamer M. S. Attia3
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1Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University- The New Valley Branch, Egypt
2Faculty of Agriculture, Moshtohor, Benha University Qhalubia, Egypt
3Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute (SWERI), Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza- Egypt
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2015;24(2):459-467
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Sahl El-Hussainia is an important reclamation project in Egypt located on El-Salam channel. Soils
of these areas are irrigated with drainage water mixed with Nile water at a ratio of 1:1. North of Sahl El-
Hussinia there exists Lake Manzalla, which receives large quantities of domestic, industrial, and agricultural
discharges. The current study was aimed at measuring the contamination level of Sahl El-Hussainia soils
with heavy metals and their effects on the grown plant contents of these contaminants. In addition, human
risks resulting due to exposure to these heavy metals through different exposure routes were evaluated. To
achieve these goals, soil and rice plant samples were collected from Khalid Ibn El-Waleed village, SahlEl-
Hussainia, and analyzed for their contents of trace elements, i.e. Pb, Cd, Co, Ni, As, and Se. The results
reveal that the soil of study suffers from moderate contamination with Pb, Co, Ni, and As to severe contamination
with Cd and Se. Moreover, As and Pb were found at high concentrations in rice grains exceeding
the permissible ones. The expected health risk assessments indicate that As, Se, and Pb can possess a
health threat for children, whereas only As and Se can posses health problem for adults. Arsenic was found
to contribute to more magnitude of cancer risks. Finally, bad management of Sahl El-Hussainia resulted in
contamination of soil with trace elements. Accordingly, food obtained from the area of study might not be
suitable for human consumption.