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Arsenic Incorporation Into Garden Vegetables Irrigated with Contaminated Water

I.M.M. Rahman
Applied Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh.

M. T. Hasan
Applied Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

In Bangladesh, the daily vegetable requirement are mostly met through homestead garden production which are usually irrigated with underground water. Garden vegetables grown in arsenic-tainted soil might uptake arsenic and accumulate in significant amount in their tissue. A study was done to understand the extent of Arsenic contamination in vegetables grown with underground irrigation water. Mirersharai and Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong District were the places of investigation ,Mean, minimum and maximum arsenic content in a number of common garden vegetables, e.g. bean, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, chilli, green papaya, mint, okra, palwal, potato, red amaranth, string bean and sweet gourd, were assessed. The contribution of vegetable-arsenic in the daily diet was estimated. Correlation with the groundwater arsenic status and statistical significance of variations were find out.

Keywords: Arsenic, Contaminated water, Arsenic in irrigation water,Vegetable

Location: Mirsharai and Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong District, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Arsenic

Objectives:

To assess the extent of arsenic poisoning in vegetables through the application of contaminated water
To find out the effect on humans through the food chain by the process

Methodology:

Water and vegetable samples were collected from Mirersharai and Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong District, Bangladesh. Randomly selected 50 groundwater samples from each of Mirersharai and Sitakunda Upazila, extracted from the shallow tubewells, were collected in pre-washed polyethylene bottles. 0.01% HNO₃ per litre of water was added as preservative and kept at 4°C before analysis. Ag- DDTC-Hexamethylenetetramine-Chloroform method, having detection limit 0.20 μg/mL of arsenic, was used to measure the total arsenic in the water samples. Fresh samples of 14 vegetable species were collected from the home gardens of the study area with replications. The edible parts of each plant were separated, carefully packed into polyethylene bags and weighed in situ for analysis. The samples were washed three times with distilled water and finally rinsed with de-ionized water to eliminate the pollutants, dried in an oven at 65°C for 24 h, re-weighed to determine water content, and then, for metal analysis, grinded using a ceramic-coated grinder. Plant parts (10–25 g) were taken into a 100 mL microkjeldhal flask with a glass bead and 15 mL concentrated nitric acid. The flask was then placed on the digester and gently heated. The solution was removed and cooled after the initial brisk reaction. Concentrated sulfuric acid (4 mL) was then added carefully to the solution followed by the addition of 2 mL of 70% perchloric acid. Heating of the solution was continued till the formation of dense SO₃ fumes, repeating nitric acid addition, if necessary. The solution was then refluxed at 110- 120°C. The residue was dissolved in distilled water and was filtered into 100 mL volumetric flask quantitatively and made up to the mark. The digested sample solutions were injected by an automatic sampler and analyzed by using air acetylene flame with combination as well as single element hollow cathode lamps into an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Model-Shimadzu, AA-6401F), having detection limit of 0.002 mg/L of arsenic. SPSS for Windows (version 11) was used for all statistical analyses. Statistical significance was considered valid only at 5% level.

Source of Information: J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. December, 2007 Vol. 11(4) 105 - 112 (ISSN 1119-8362)

Article Link (Online Journal): http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?ja07105

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Arsenic induced phytotoxicity could be detected through the use of arsenic contaminated groundwater for irrigation in the homestead vegetable gardens. Present study supported the phenomenon of soil-plant transfer. Higher the concentration and number of irrigation higher was the uptake/contamination. Further investigation suggested to evaluate the effects of high soil arsenic content-resulted from the arsenic contaminated irrigated water-on germination, chlorophyll contents, growth and yield of the widely cultivated garden vegetable varieties in Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal