530844 research-article2014

RSH0010.1177/1757913914530844CURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONSCURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONS

CURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONS

Disaster issues and management in farm and urban crop production The health of millions of people globally is at risk because of the consumption of contaminated food crops. Sushant Singh, Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at Montclair State University, New Jersey, and Charles Feldman and Shahla Wunderlich, both of the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Montclair State University, New Jersey, take a look at how to minimize and manage this disaster risk.

Disasters fall mainly into two categories: natural and man-made. The purpose of this commentary is to review a few potential health hazards that occur due to human activities, specifically the contamination of soil where food is produced. Soil quality may change as the unintended consequence of a host of man-made and environmental mediations. These include the presence of construction rubble (particularly paint residues, plumbing fixtures, broken glass, caulking, and plastics), various batteries, remnants of leaded gasoline runoff, garbage (e.g. food wrappers and drink containers), and contamination from the surrounding water and air.1 In addition to their potential to alter the chemical composition of the soil, these materials can obstruct its water-holding capacity, affect the development of plant roots, and decrease the proliferation of essential soil organisms.2

Heavy metals - an important public health problem The occurrence of heavy metals in soils has been intensified during the last few decades by industrial and agricultural development (storage of industrial and municipal wastes, burning of fuels,

bioavailable in foods, and as such, can cause consequent health risks.7 For example, in Titagarh, India, water contaminated with high concentrations of Pb, nickel (Ni), and Cu has been used for irrigation of vegetables and higher than recommended levels of Cd have been found in the soil. The mean levels of Pb, Zn, Cd, chromium (Cr), and Ni in application of pesticides and fertilizers, vegetables growing in this soil were mining and wastewater treatments, found to be above the Indian safety functioning of non-ferrous-metallimits.8 producing smelters, etc.).3 In addition, The presence of Pb in crop systems some natural disasters including has been of particular concern for the hurricanes and floods can spread fecal potential for a public health disaster.9 coliform and pathogenic viruses along 4 The presence of Pb in the soil–rice with toxic metals from toxic waste sites. However, these issues are underreported. system in China has been reported, which could be catastrophic for the The contamination of the environment population that relies on this food is serious and critical and can pose devastating health consequences. This is staple.10 This condition can pose multiple health problems for at-risk a topic of great interest for public health. population groups such A large number of toxic as children, pregnant metals and metalloids, In Western women, and older adults. such as copper (Cu), zinc Europe alone, For example, children are (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium more than 1.4 particularly susceptible to (Cd), mercury (Hg), and million sites are Pb-exposure due to high arsenic (As), among many polluted with gastrointestinal others, have accumulated heavy metals absorption.11 A in soils, reaching toxic and metalloids. 3 neurotoxic effect of Pb at values. Unfortunately, lower levels of exposure much contaminated land has been reported.12 Furthermore, an As is in use for crop production all over the concentration range from 10 to 2,000 world. In Western Europe alone, more µg/L has been linked with several than 1.4 million sites are polluted with diseases, including spontaneous heavy metals and metalloids.5 The World pregnancy loss, respiratory Health Organization (WHO) describes complications, diabetes, immunological groundwater As contamination as ‘the largest mass poisoning of a population in problems, and skin cancer.13 The Hazard history’, having impacted over 500 million Index (HI) has been widely used in health-risk assessment studies in people’s lives in 70 countries on six contaminated areas to establish the continents.6 toxic and the non-carcinogenic toxicity Heavy metals could negatively affect of substances. A HI less than one is human health through consumption of considered to infer no significant risk of plants, particularly when the produce is non-carcinogenic effects.11,14 grown in contaminated soil, or irrigated Dangerously high HI values have been with polluted water. There is increasing found in many arable regions of the evidence that the soil contaminants can world. For example, a perilous HI transfer to the plants, become

Copyright © Royal Society for Public Health 2014 May 2014 Vol 134 No 3 l Perspectives in Public Health  127 SAGE Publications Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV LIB on May 21, 2015 ISSN 1757-9139 DOI: 10.1177/1757913914530844

CURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONS quotient (between 19 and 87) has been reported for As in contaminated areas in India, where crop production is taking place.14 The problem can extend beyond plant consumption: entry of heavy metals into the food chain can ultimately lead to contamination of a mother’s breast-milk, which has been widely reported in the literature.15

Heavy metal problems in community gardens Recently, there is growing interest in community gardens in urban areas as a sustainable strategy for food production. These gardens not only offer green spaces for local people to congregate, but they provide some land to grow vegetables and flowers. Growing food crops in community gardens could be an emerging issue of public health concern because of the potential health risks of high levels of some heavy metals or combinations of several toxic metals in the soil of these gardens. For example, our recent (ongoing) study of a community garden in the New York urban area indicated that the mean concentrations of aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), Zn, and Pb in the soil are approaching the upper limits

example, standards exist for Fe, Ni, Cu, (ULs) of safe standards set by the New Zn, As, and Pb, while no ULs exist for York Department of Environmental Ag, and Cd) makes assessment of Conservation (NY DEC) and the US Department of Environmental Protection hazard quotients problematic.11 Agency.16 Based on the established UL Consistent metal standards for soil and allowable per capita intake of metals of consumption levels of heavy metals through foods are some of the most for adults set by the Food and Nutrition important and the most urgent issues to Board of the Institute of Medicine and resolve. It is difficult to the National Academies, destroy heavy metal United States, a Comprehensive pollutants in soil, as well moderate daily regulatory as expensive and time consumption of 100 g guidelines with consuming. In addition, (3.5 oz) of kale and universal some of the methods tomatoes grown in this standards to used create additional garden would result in the prevent soil health hazards and intake of an average of contamination produce secondary 0.90 mg of As, four times waste.17 Therefore, the recommended UL and 6.46 mg of Pb, seven times the although prevention of contamination is recommended UL. Such consumption, the best strategy, new efficient and costtherefore, constitutes a potential health effective in situ technologies are needed. hazard to this and other similarly Comprehensive regulatory guidelines exposed communities. with universal standards to prevent soil The hazards inherent to edible plant contamination and that limit production uptake of heavy metals is an emergent to soil with recognized safe levels of problem for millions of people who contaminants should be developed by survive on agriculture in rural areas and the global community. This approach for urban communities globally, where would limit the potential of disaster for there is a surge of new community millions of people globally whose health garden development. The irregularity of is at risk because of the consumption of UL standards (in the United States, for contaminated food crops.

References 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Agrawal M, Singh B, Rajput M, Marshall F, Bell J. Effect of air pollution on peri-urban agriculture: A case study. Environmental Pollution 2003; 126: 323–9. Iverson M. Assessing Urban Brownfields for Community Gardens in Vancouver, British Columbia. Master’s thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2006. Shilev S, Benlloch M, Dios-Palomares R, Sancho ED. Phytoremediation of metalcontaminated soil for improving food safety. In R Costa and K Kristbergsson (eds) Predictive Modeling and Risk Assessment. Springer USA, 2009, pp. 225–42. White K. Signs of an olive branch: Confronting the environmental health consequences of the Midwestern floods. Environmental Health Perspectives 1993; 101: 584–8. McGrath SP, Zhao F-J, Lombi E. Plant and rhizosphere processes involved in phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils. Plant and Soil 2001; 232: 207–14. Smith AH, Lingas EO, Rahman M. Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: A public health emergency. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2000; 78(9): 1093–103.

7.

Baoyu L. Research status of heavy metal pollution in vegetables and its control measures. Journal of Anhui Agricultural Sciences 2008; 36(4): 1566. 8. Gupta N, Khan DK, Santra SC. Determination of public health hazard potential of wastewater reuse in crop production. World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development 2010; 7(4): 328–40. 9. Chojnacka K, Chojnacki A, Górecka H, Górecki H. Bioavailability of heavy metals from polluted soils to plants. Science of the Total Environment 2005; 337: 175–82. 10. Zhiwei ZHCFZ. Lead pollution in soil-rice system. Chinese Cereals and Oils Association 2004; 5: 001. 1. Harmanescu M, Alda LM, Bordean DM, 1 Gogoasa L, George L. Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of vegetables grown in old mining area; a case study: Banat County, Romania. Chemistry Central Journal 2011; 5: 1–10. 12. Järup L. Hazards of heavy metal contamination. British Medical Bulletin 2003; 68(1): 167–82.

128  Perspectives in Public Health l May 2014 Vol 134 No 3 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV LIB on May 21, 2015

13. Phan K, Sthiannopkao S, Kim KW, Wong MH, Sao V, Hashim JH et al. Health risk assessment of inorganic arsenic intake of Cambodia residents through groundwater drinking pathway. Water Research 2009; 44(19): 5777–88. 14. Singh SK, Ghosh AK. Health risk assessment due to groundwater arsenic contamination: Children are at high risk. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal 2012; 18(4): 751–66. 15. Al-Saleh I, Shinwari N, Mashhour A. Heavy metal concentrations in the breast milk of Saudi women. Biological Trace Element Research 2003; 96(1): 21–37. 16. US EPA Regional Screening Levels. Development of Soil Cleanup Objectives: Technical Support Document. Albany, NY: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2007. 17. Wenzel WW, Adriano DC, Salt D, Smith R. Phytoremediation: A plant-microbe-based remediation system. In DC Adriano, J-M Bollang, WT Frankenberger Jr, RC Slims (eds) Bioremediation of contaminated soils. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy, 1999, pp. 457–508.

Disaster issues and management in farm and urban crop production.

Disaster issues and management in farm and urban crop production. - PDF Download Free
391KB Sizes 0 Downloads 3 Views