Appraisal of contamination of heavy metals and health risk in agricultural soil of Jhansi city, India

The accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in soil is presently a significant threat to the environment. The Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, and Co concentrations were assessed in the agricultural soil samples. The results of various contamination indices including contamination factor, geo-accumulation indices, and ecological risk indices revealed that Cd is responsible for moderate to high contamination of soil. The multivariate statistical analyses including PCA, HCA, and correlation matrix suggested the mixed origin of HMs in the soil. Ingestion was found to be a primary route of exposure while dermal and inhalation exposure was negligible. Overall, the noncarcinogenic health risks were well within the safe limit to human health. However, healthwise, children were likely to be at greater risk compared with adults, due to their generally increased exposure to toxic agents through hand/mouth ingestion. Moreover, no carcinogenic risks were determined through the inhalation exposure of Cd, Ni, and Co.