Dietary Metals (Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn) Exposure and Associated Health Risks in Baia Mare Area, Northwestern Romania

This study estimated the non-carcinogenic health risk of Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn via dietary intake in the urban and rural areas of Baia Mare city, northwestern Romania, a former mining area. A total of 230 food items grouped in ten food categories (meat and animal organs, meat-derived products, animal fat, eggs, dairy, bread, corn flour, potato, vegetables, fruits) and 32 water samples were collected and analyzed for Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn using atomic absorption spectrometric method. The human health risk assessment through dietary exposure was evaluated by calculating the estimated daily intake of metals, the Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) and the Total Target Hazard Quotients (TTHQ) for normal daily consumption in adults. The average daily intakes of Pb, Cd and Zn were higher than the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) reference value for urban and rural residents, which showed that there was a potentially high risk of ingestion of food and water. The average daily intake of Cu with food and drinking water was lower than the corresponding TDI value, which indicated that Cu intake was not a potential hazard to the health of residents in the study areas. The individual target hazard quotients, calculated for food consumption in urban area decreased in the following order: Cd>Cu>Pb>Zn, and in rural area: Pb>Cd>Cu>Zn, having values higher than 1 for Pb and Cd in the rural area and approximately equal to 1 for Cd (urban) and Cu (rural), indicating non-carcinogenic adverse health effects. The TTHQs for the two areas (urban and rural) were 2.934 and 5.164, respectively, established cumulative adverse effects of metals. The results showed that vegetables, potato and bread were the main sources of metal intake from foodstuff for adults, but fruit, water and meat were secondary contributors.