Comprehensive assessment of heavy metals contamination in soil and water in peri-urban areas of National Capital Territory, Delhi

Abstract

Contamination of soil and irrigation water by heavy metals (HMs) is a genuine concern due to the possible effect on human well-being via food chain. Thus, an assessment was carried out to find HMs concentration level in water and soil samples of peri-urban areas of National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi. Analytical results revealed that significant amount of HMs concentration were found in irrigation water, out of which concentrations of Cu (2590 ?g/L), Fe (5549 ?g/L), Cr (1910 ?g/L), Mn (2570 ?g/L), Zn (2155 ?g/L) and Cd (405 ?g/L) in drain water were exceeded the permissible limit of FAO. Cu (108.94 ?g/g) and Pb (163 ?g/g) concentration in surface soils of majority of sites were recorded beyond the permissible limit of FAO. The overall mean HMs concentration in soil found in the sequence Zn>Cu>Fe>Mn>Cr>Ni>Pb>Cd. It reveals that increasing trend of HMs concentration in water used for irrigation results in metal accumulation in soil, and their consequent accrual in the crops lead to adverse impact on human well-being.