Heavy metals in eggs and chicken and the associated human health risk assessment in the mining areas of Singhbhum copper belt, India

ABSTRACT

Metal contamination was studied in locally rearing chicken and eggs in the environs of mining areas of Singhbhum copper belt. Concentrations of metals were below Indian standards except for Cu, Ni and Zn in the case of chicken at some locations. Estimated daily intake (EDI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) suggested that the metals did not pose risk individually. However, considering the geometric mean of the metals, hazard index (HI) was above unity. Cu, Pb and Co were the key components contributing to a potential noncarcinogenic risk. The HI varied from 0.62 to 1.66 among the locations indicating a considerable heath risk to the consumers of locally reared chicken and eggs around the mining areas. Higher HIs were found at the locations in close vicinity to copper mining and processing units compared to other locations.

KEYWORDS:

• Chicken
• copper mining areas
• egg
• heavy metals
• risk assessment

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Director and Environment Assessment and Remediation Section (NREM), CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad for providing the necessary laboratory facilities and other logistic support for the study.

Funding

The authors are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for providing the necessary funding for the study under the DST-Young Scientist Scheme (Grant no. YSS/2015/001211).