RESEARCH ARTICLE Health risk assessment from contaminated foodstuffs: a field study in chromite mining-affected areas northern Pakistan Javed Nawab 1,2,4 & Gang Li 1,5 & Sardar Khan 1,4,5 & Hassan Sher 3 & Muhammad Aamir 4 & Isha Shamshad 4,6 & Anwarzeb Khan 4 & Muhammad Amjad Khan 4 Received: 8 November 2015 /Accepted: 29 February 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract This study aimed to investigate the potential health risk associated with toxic metals in contaminated foodstuffs (fruits, vegetables, and cereals) collected from various agricul- ture fields present in chromite mining-affected areas of mafic and ultramafic terrains (northern Pakistan). The concentra- tions of Cr, Ni, Zn, Cd, and Pb were quantified in both soil and food samples. The soil samples were highly contaminated with Cr (320 mg/kg), Ni (108 mg/kg), and Cd (2.55 mg/kg), which exceeded their respective safe limits set by FAO/WHO. Heavy metal concentrations in soil were found in the order of Cr>Ni>Pb>Zn>Cd and showed significantly (p < 0.001) higher concentrations as compared to reference soil. The inte- grated pollution load index (PLI) value was observed greater than three indicating high level of contamination in the study area. The concentrations of Cr (1.80–6.99 mg/kg) and Cd (0.21–0.90 mg/kg) in foodstuffs exceeded their safe limits, while Zn, Pb, and Ni concentrations were observed within their safe limits. In all foodstuffs, the selected heavy metal concentrations were accumulated significantly (p < 0.001) higher as compared to the reference, while some heavy metals were observed higher but not significant like Zn in pear, per- simmon, white mulberry, and date-plum; Cd in pear, fig and white mulberry; and Pb in walnut, fig, and pumpkin. The health risk assessment revealed no potential risk for both adults and children for the majority of heavy metals, except Cd, which showed health risk index (HRI) >1 for children and can pose potential health threats for local inhabitants. Keywords Foodstuffs . Heavy metals . Bioaccumulation . Contamination . Mining areas . Health risk Introduction Heavy metals contaminate the environment and its compo- nents released from natural processes (geogenic, weathering of parent’s rocks) and anthropogenic activities (mining, smelting, and industries) (Li et al. 2015; Nawab et al. 2015a, b; Ok et al. 2007; Khan et al. 2008; Sekomo et al. 2011). The milling operation along with grinding, concentrating ores, and dumping of mine tailings is also considered as important source of heavy metal contamination (Bortey-Sam et al. 2015; Nawab et al. 2015c). Heavy metals create serious prob- lems when accumulate by plants/animals at high concentra- tions and consume by humans in the surrounding areas of mining sites (Eisler 2004; Ok et al. 2011). Health risk Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-016-6379-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Javed Nawab javednawab11@yahoo.com * Sardar Khan sardar.khan2008@yahoo.com 1 Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China 2 Department of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, University of Swat, Swat 19130, Pakistan 3 Centre for Plant Sciences and Biodiversity, University of Swat, Swat 19130, Pakistan 4 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan 5 Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Zhongke Road 88, Chunxiao Beilun District, Ningbo 315830, China 6 Department of Environmental Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan Environ Sci Pollut Res DOI 10.1007/s11356-016-6379-9