Indium Uptake and Accumulation by Rice and Wheat and Health Risk Associated with Their Consumption
Journal
Environmental Science and Technology
Journal Volume
54
Journal Volume
54
Journal Issue
23
Journal Issue
23
Pages
14946-14954
Start Page
14946
End Page
14954
ISSN
0013936X
Date Issued
2020-12-01
Author(s)
Abstract
The increasing use of indium in high-tech industries has inevitably caused its release into the environment. However, knowledge of its environmental fate has been very limited so far. This study investigates the indium uptake and accumulation by two staple crops, rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and evaluates potential risks associated with their consumption. Rice and wheat were grown on three kinds of soil, including acidic soils spiked with a high indium concentration (1.0 mmol kg-1), which is considered the worst-case scenario, because high soil acidity promotes indium bioavailability. The results revealed that a large portion of soil indium was associated with iron hydroxides, even in acidic soils. Indium precipitates in soils resulted in relatively low availability at the plant root site. Most absorbed indium accumulated at the roots, with only a tiny portion reaching the grains. The corresponding Hazard Quotient indicated no adverse effects on human health. Due to the low translocation of indium from soil to grain, the consumption of rice and wheat grains harvested from indium-contaminated soils may pose an insignificant risk to human health. Further field studies are necessary to better elucidate the risks associated with consuming crops grown in indium-contaminated soils.
Subjects
Health risk
Indium
Rice
Soil availability
Wheat
SDGs
Other Subjects
Biochemistry; Crops; Grain (agricultural product); Health; Health risks; Iron compounds; Soils; Contaminated soils; High tech industry; Indium concentration; Rice (Oryza sativa L.); Risk to human health; Uptake and accumulations; Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.); Worst case scenario; Soil pollution; ferric hydroxide; indium; cadmium; indium; food consumption; health risk; indium; rice; wheat; adult; Article; bioaccumulation; bioavailability; child; concentration (parameter); controlled study; estimated daily intake; extended X ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy; extraction; food intake; fractionation; health hazard; human; laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; plant root; precipitation; rice; risk assessment; shoot; soil acidity; soil pollution; Triticum aestivum; Oryza; soil; soil pollutant; wheat; Oryza sativa; Triticum aestivum; Cadmium; Humans; Indium; Oryza; Soil; Soil Pollutants; Triticum
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Type
journal article