Human Health Risk Assessment of Exposure to Nitrate from Vegetables Distributed in Kermanshah

Theexcessive consumption of nitrogen fertilizers leads to the production of vegetables with high concentrations of nitrate. High nitrate concentration in crops causes a variety of diseases, especially due to the production of carcinogen nitrosamine in adults. Because of the increase in cancerous and non-cancerous diseases caused by the consumption of foods containing high nitrate, a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the state of nitrate accumulation in vegetables is required. This study was conducted to evaluate the risk of nitrate in high-consumption vegetables in Kermanshah.

In this study, 120 samples of five kilograms of high-consumption vegetables were sampled in different months of each season and sent to the laboratory. Samples included tomato, cucumber, potato, onion (yellow, white, red), lettuce, celery, watercress, and spinach or beet leaves. After sample preparation and extraction, the nitrate concentration was determined by a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 410 nm.

The nitrate concentration in all vegetables was less than the WHO and ISRI standard limits in winter. But in the summer, the concentration of nitrate in celery, cress, and sugar beet leaves exceeded the standard limits. The hazard quotient (HQ) was less than 1 in all vegetables and both seasons. In summer, the highest HQ values were observed in cress (0.425), beet leaves (0.363), and celery (0.135), in sequence. In the winter, the highest amount of HQ was seen in cress (0.190).

According to the HQ values (less than 1) in all vegetables, the possibility of exposure to non-carcinogenic diseases caused by nitrate from eating vegetables in this study is not serious, but it is necessary to monitor the concentration of nitrate in consumed vegetables at different intervals.