Investigation of heavy metal concentrations (lead, cadmium, and arsenic) in vegetables irrigated with synthetic effluent and well water: Risk assessment of carcinogenicity and non- carcinogenicity Zeinab Parmoozeh 1 ID , Gholamreza Reza Mostafaii 1 ID , Davarkhah Rabbani 1 ID , Hossein Akbari 2 ID , Atieh Salem 1,3 ID , Mohammad Bagher Miranzadeh 1* ID 1 Department of Environmental Health, School of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran 3 Department of Environmental Health, Student-cultural Deputy, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal 2024, 11(3), 327-336 Introduction Continuous population growth, industrialization, and climate change have led to increased water demand, and consequently, increasing wastewater production worldwide (1,2). Given the limited freshwater resources (3), wastewater reuse is considered a suitable solution to overcome the problem of water shortage (4,5). Wastewater reuse has potential economic and environmental benefits (6), which can solve the problem of water scarcity, wastewater disposal, and the return of organic and inorganic nutrient levels to the soil simultaneously (7). Heavy metals are one of the most important environmental pollutants (8,9) and are present in the effluent as a solution (10). Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), hexavalent chromium )Cr), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se) and arsenic (As) are among the most important heavy metals (11,12). They can accumulate at toxic and dangerous levels in soil and crops by continuously using the effluents for irrigation (13). The transfer of heavy metals from soil to plants is the main way for human exposure (14). The effects of heavy metals on human health are carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, fetal abnormalities, endocrine disorders, immune system disorders (15), renal, pulmonary, nervous, and skeletal system injuries (16). Thus, the entry of pollutants through the food chain and the accumulation of heavy metals in soil and plants has become a vital issue for human health Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal H E MJ © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 10.34172/EHEM.2024.32 doi Original Article Open Access Publish Free http://ehemj.com *Correspondence to: Mohammad Bagher Miranzadeh, Email: miranzadehm@ymail. com Article History: Received: 15 March 2024 Accepted: 3 August 2024 ePublished: 19 August 2024 Abstract Background: The growing use of treated wastewater in farming has raised concerns about the potential impacts on public health. Methods: This study assessed the levels of the heavy metals lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in plants watered in greenhouse settings using both well water and synthetic wastewater. Synthetic wastewater with As at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/L, Pb at 1, 3, and 5 mg/L, and Cd at 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 mg/L, as well as well water were used to irrigate radish, coriander, and grass. In the end, 144 vegetable samples were gathered, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to determine the heavy metal concentrations in the samples. Risk assessment for consumers was determined based on the measured levels of heavy metals in the vegetables. Results: Even though the concentrations of heavy metals in the wastewater were within the limits for irrigation, the risk assessment showed that consumption of vegetables irrigated with treatment wastewater could pose risks to individuals’ health. The maximum concentration of Pb in radish leaves was observed at the Pb concentration of 5 mg/L, and the maximum concentration of As in cress irrigated with As effluent at the As concentration of 0.02 mg/L. Conclusion: The consumption of vegetables containing Pb can pose a significant non-carcinogenic risk to consumers. However, well water may also be dangerous in the long run. Therefore, it is important to ensure about food safety when using treated wastewater for irrigation. Keywords: Arsenic, Lead, Vegetables, Wastewater, Risk assessment Citation: Parmoozeh Z, Reza Mostafaii G, Rabbani D, Akbari H, Salem A, Miranzadeh MB. Investigation of heavy metal concentrations (lead, cadmium, and arsenic) in vegetables irrigated with synthetic effluent and well water: risk assessment of carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity. Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal 2024; 11(3): 327-336 doi: 10.34172/EHEM.2024.32.