Contamination, exposure, and health risk assessment of Hg in Pakistan: A review

Sajid Rashid; Izaz Ali Shah; Roberto Xavier Supe Tulcan; Wajid Rashid; Mika Sillanpaa

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118995

Contamination, exposure, and health risk assessment of Hg in Pakistan: A review

Environ Pollut. 2022 May 15:301:118995. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118995. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

Authors

Sajid Rashid¹, Izaz Ali Shah¹, Roberto Xavier Supe Tulcan², Wajid Rashid³, Mika Sillanpaa⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
³ Department of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, University of Swat, 19130, Pakistan. Electronic address: wajid@uswat.edu.pk.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein, 2028, South Africa; Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia; International Research Centre of Nanotechnology for Himalayan Sustainability, Shoolini University, Solan, 173212, Himachal Pradesh, India.

PMID: 35189298
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118995

Abstract

Mercury is a highly toxic and highly mobile heavy metal. It has been regarded as more toxic than other nonessential and toxic nonradioactive heavy metals. Moreover, it has a high tendency of bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the environmental and health risks related to Hg. Seventy studies related to Hg in environmental media, aquatic biota, and food stuffs across Pakistan were reviewed, and their concentrations were used for ecological and human health risk assessments. High concentrations of Hg were reported in the environment, with maximum concentrations of 72 mg L^-1, 144 mg kg^-1, 887 mg kg^-1, and 49,807 ng m^-3 in surface water, surface soil, surface sediments, and urban atmosphere, respectively. The possible non-carcinogenic health risk (hazard quotient) of Hg was assessed in soil, water, and fish. High risks were calculated for seafood and vegetable consumption, while low risks were estimated for soils and groundwater ingestion and exposure. Overall, children showed higher risks than adults. Last, the risk quotient analysis (RQ) revealed significant risks for aquatic species. RQs showed that multiple species, especially those with smaller resilience, could face long-term detrimental impacts. High, medium, and low risks were calculated from 66.66, 16.17, and 16.17% of the reported Hg concentrations.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Biomagnification; Hazardous impacts; Hg exposure.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Food Contamination / analysis
Mercury* / analysis
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Pakistan
Risk Assessment
Soil Pollutants* / analysis

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Soil Pollutants
Mercury