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Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals

in Urban Soil of Karachi, Pakistan
a
Zahida Karim & Bilal Aslam Qureshi
Department of Chemistry , University of Karachi , Karachi ,

Pakistan
Accepted author version posted online: 04 Apr 2013.Published
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To cite this article: Zahida Karim & Bilal Aslam Qureshi (2014) Health Risk Assessment of Heavy
Metals in Urban Soil of Karachi, Pakistan, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International
Journal, 20:3, 658-667, DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2013.791535
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Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 20: 658667, 2014

Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1080-7039 print / 1549-7860 online
DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2013.791535
Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Urban

Soil of Karachi, Pakistan
Zahida Karim and Bilal Aslam Qureshi

Department of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
ABSTRACT
The potential health risk due to lifetime exposure to copper, lead, chromium,
zinc, and iron in urban soil of Karachi, Pakistan, was evaluated. Mean concentrations
of Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Fe in topsoil samples were 33.3 12.8, 42.1 55.8, 9.6 4.2,
99.5 37.3, and 908.4 57.8 mg kg1, respectively. A U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency model was adopted for the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessment from different exposure pathways. Risk assessment indicated that the overall results for the carcinogenic risk were insignificant. However, the carcinogenic risk from
Pb due to oral ingestion of soil exceeded the value of 1 106, in some areas of the
city. It indicates that the exposure to Pb-contaminated soil may cause adverse health
effects in humans, especially in children. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) for different
metals through ingestion and dermal pathways was also found to be less than 1. The
combined Hazard Index (HI) for children through different routes of exposure was
8.9 times greater than for adults. It indicates that the children are more susceptible
to non-carcinogenic health effects of trace metals compared to adults. Particularly,
non-carcinogenic risk of Pb to children via oral ingestion needs special attention.
Key Words:
risk assessment, exposure pathways, metals, urban soil, children,

Karachi.
INTRODUCTION
Elevated concentrations of (potentially) toxic metals in urban soil is a serious
environmental problem worldwide (Wong et al. 2006; Thornton et al. 2008; Luo
et al. 2012a,b). Urban soil contaminated with heavy metals can pose significant risks
to human health, but this is not merely explained by its metal content. Health risk
assessment is an effective approach to quantitatively determine the risk to human
health posed by various contaminants through different exposure pathways (Wu
et al. 2010; Karim 2011; Karim et al. 2013). Oral ingestion (Luo et al. 2011; Okorie
et al. 2011), inhalation of volatiles and fugitive particulates (Laidlaw and Filippelli
2008; Schmidt 2010), and dermal contact (Siciliano et al. 2009) are considered
Received 28 October 2012; revised manuscript accepted 24 December 2012.
Address correspondence to Zahida Karim, Department of Chemistry, University of Karachi,
Karachi 75270, Pakistan. E-mail: zahidakarim@hotmail.com
658
HRA of Heavy Metals in Urban Soil of Karachi, Pakistan
to be the important pathways of human exposure to metals-contaminated urban

soil. Children are particularly more susceptible to the exposure to toxic metals in
urban soil than adults because they may absorb dermally, ingest, or inhale significant
amounts of toxic metals during their outdoor and play activities (Abrahams 2002;
Ljung et al. 2007; Figueiredo et al. 2011; Luo et al. 2012a).
There are a limited number of studies concerning the health risk assessment of
heavy metals contamination of urban soils in cities such as Xiamen, China (Luo
et al. 2012a), Sao Paulo, Brazil (Figueiredo et al. 2011), Changsha, China (Wang
et al, 2010), and Belgrade, Serbia (Grzetic and Ghariani 2008). No categorical study
has yet discussed the human health risk assessment of heavy metals in urban soil of
Karachi, Pakistan.
The objective of this study was to determine the potential health risk for children
and adults due to exposure to the contaminated urban soil of Karachi. Carcinogenic
and non-carcinogenic health risks through multi-pathway exposures were evaluated.
The findings of this study will facilitate the decision-makers to manage and/or
dispose of contaminated soils, and minimize health risks to urban inhabitants.
METHODS AND MATERIALS

Soil samples at depth of 010 cm were collected from 30 different sampling
locations of Karachi city including roadsides and industrial and residential areas
(Figure 1), during July, 2011. At each sampling site, five replicate samples were
collected within a 2 m 2 m grid using a stainless steel auger, thoroughly mixed
to obtain a bulk composite sample. Samples were air-dried, ground, and sieved
through a 2-mm nylon sieve. Total concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Fe in soil
samples were determined using a strong acid (HNO3 HClO4 ) pseudo-total digestion
method (Lee et al. 2006) and analysed by using an AAnalyst 700 PerkinElmer atomic
absorption spectrometer using flame atomizer. For quality control, reagent blanks,
replicates, and standard reference material (NIST-2711) were incorporated into the
analysis to assess precision and bias in the method. The detection limits for Cu, Pb,
Cr, Zn, and Fe were 0.005, 0.01, 0.005, 0.004, and 0.072 mg kg1, respectively. The
percentages of recoveries for these metals were found in the range of 93.5898.64%.
According to the toxicological profiles from the U.S. Department of Energy
(USDOE 2011) of Cu, Pb, Cr, and Zn, these metals have adverse health effects on
humans. The carcinogenic risk was calculated for the lifetime exposure, estimated
as the incremental probability of an individual developing cancer over a lifetime
as a result of total exposure to the potential carcinogen (Luo et al. 2012a). For
carcinogenic risk assessment, the chronic daily intake (CDI) values were multiplied
by the corresponding slope factor of the metal to produce a level of excess lifetime
cancer risk. Eqs. (1)(5), adapted from the USEPA (1989, 1997, 2001) and the
USDOE (2011) were used to calculate carcinogenic chronic daily intake through
oral ingestion (CDIing-ca ), inhalation (CDIinh-ca ), and dermal absorption (CDIdermal-ca )
pathways (Grzetic and Ghariani 2008; Luo et al. 2012a):
CDIingca = [C IF EF ED]/ATca
IF = {[IRadult EDadult ]/BWadult } + {[IRchild EDchild ]/BWchild }
Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2014
(1)
(2)
659
Z. Karim and B. A. Qureshi
Figure 1.
Map showing the locations of soil sampling sites.
where C is the concentration of metal in soil (mg kg1), IF is intake factor (mg yr
kg1 d1), EF is exposure frequency (d yr1), ED is exposure duration (yr), ATca is
average time for carcinogens (d), IR is ingestion rate (kg d1), and BW is average
body weight (kg).
CDIinhca = {[EF ET ED]/[PEF 24 ATca ]} 103
(3)
where ET is exposure time (h d ) and PEF is soil-to-air particulate emission factor

(m3 kg1).
CDIdermalca = {[C ABSd EF DFSadj ]/ATca } 106
(4)
DFSadj = {[EDchild SAchild AFchild ]/BWchild }

+ {[(EDresident EDchild ) SAadult AFadult ]/BWadult }
(5)
where ABSd is dermal absorption factor (unitless), DFSadj is soil dermal contact
factor-age-adjusted (mg yr kg1 d1), SA is skin surface area available for exposure
(cm2 event1), and AF is soil to skin adherence factor (mg cm2).
Presented in Table 1 are the input parameters and their values for calculating CDI (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic) through different exposure
pathways.
660
Table 1.
Input parameters for the assessment of human exposure to urban soil

through three different exposure pathways.
Input parameters
Concentration of metal in soil (C)
Ingestion rate (IRadult )
(IRchild )
Exposure duration (EDadult )
(EDchild )
Body weight average (BWadult )
(BWchild )
Exposure frequency (EF)
Unit
Values
Reference
mg kg1
kg d1
0.0001
Grzetic and Ghariani 2008;

USDOE 2011; Luo et al. 2012a
kg
0.0002
30
6
70
d yr1
15
350
yr
Average time for carcinogens (ATca )

Life time (LT)
d
yr
Average time for non-carcinogens

(ATnc )
Intake factor (IF)
Exposure time (ET)
Soil-to-air particulate emission factor
(PEF)
Skin surface area available for
exposure (SA)
adult
child
Soil to skin adherence factor (AF)
adult
child
Soil dermal contact
factor-age-adjusted (DFSadj )
LT 365
66.4
(Pakistan)
ED 365
mg yr kg1 d1
h d1
m3 kg1
24
1.36 109
Table 2.
Metal
Cu
Pb
Cr
Zn
Fe
Reference
cm2 event1
mg cm2
mg yr kg1 d1

USEPA 1989, 1991; Grzetic
and Ghariani 2008
Grzetic and Ghariani 2008;
CIA (US) 2012

5700
2800
0.07
0.2
360.8
Eq. (5)
Chronic oral slope factor (CSFing ), chronic inhalation unit risk (IUR),
gastrointestinal absorption factor (ABSGI ) and dermal absorption factor
(ABSd ) for different metals.
CSFing
(mg kg1 d1)1
IUR (g m3)1
ABSGI
ABSd
8.5 103
USDOE 2011;
Luo et al. 2012a
1.20 105
1.20 102
USEPA 2002;
Luo et al. 2012a
1
1
1.31 102
1
USEPA 2011;
Luo et al. 2012a
1 103
1 103
1 103
1 103
USEPA 2011;
Luo et al. 2012a
661
Table 3.
Chronic oral reference dose (Rf Ding ) for different metals.

Rf Ding (mg kg1 d1)
Reference
Cu
Pb
Cr
4.0 102
3.5 103
3 103
Zn
0.3
Fe

Luo et al. 2012a; Faiz et al. 2012
USEPA 2002; Grzetic and Ghariani 2008;
Zhang et al. 2008; USDOE 2011; Luo
et al. 2012a
Metal
Carcinogenic risk through different exposure pathways was calculated using Eqs.
(6)(8):
Risking = CDIingca CSFing
(6)
Riskinh = CDIinhca IUR
(7)
Riskdermal = [CDIdermalca CSFing ]/ABSGI
(8)
Chronic oral slope factor (CSFing ), chronic inhalation unit risk (IUR), gastrointestinal absorption factor (ABSGI ), and dermal absorption factor (ABSd ) for different
metals are given in Table 2.
Non-carcinogenic chronic daily intake through different exposure pathways was
calculated using Eqs. (9)(11):
CDIingnc = [C IR EF ED]/[BW ATnc ]
(9)
CDIinhnc = [C EF ET ED]/[PEF 24 ATnc ]
(10)
CDIdermalnc = {[C SA AF ABSd EF ED]/[BW ATnc ]} 106
(11)
Hazard Quotient (HQ) was calculated by dividing the non-carcinogenic chronic

daily intake (CDInc ) by the corresponding reference dose, as shown in Eq. (12):
HQ = CDInc /Rf D
(12)
The values of Rf Ding , Rf Dinh , and Rf Ddermal for Cu, Pb, Cr, and Zn metals are listed in
Tables 3 and 4.
Table 4.
Metal
Cu
Pb
Cr
Zn
Fe
662
Chronic inhalation reference concentration (Rf Cinh ) and dermal

reference dose (Rf Ddermal ) for different metals.
Rf Cinh (mg m3)
Rf Ddermal = Rf Ding ABSGI

(Luo et al. 2012a)
4.0 10;2
3.5 10;3
3.9 10;5
0.3
Table 5.
Descriptive statistics for the concentration (mg Kg1) of metals in urban

soil of Karachi city.
Metal
Mean
Min
Max
StDev
RSD
Cu
Pb
Cr
Zn
Fe
33.3
42.1
9.6
99.5
908.4
10.0
2.2
2.5
39.8
596.6
55.5
192.6
20.0
193.6
1245.6
12.8
55.8
4.2
37.2
57.8
0.4
1.3
0.4
0.4
0.1
The total risk is expressed as the sum of the cancer risk from each individual
exposure pathway.
Total risk =
Risk = Risking + Riskinh + Riskdermal
(13)
The cumulative non-carcinogenic hazard, expressed as the Hazard Index (HI), is

the sum of hazard quotients from each individual exposure pathway.
HI =
HQ = HQ ing + HQ inh + HQ dermal
(14)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The descriptive statistics for the concentration of Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Fe in soil
samples are shown in Table 5. Mean concentrations of these metals were found
in the order Fe>Zn>Pb>Cu>Cr. Concentrations of Pb and Cu in urban soils are
more likely to be influenced by anthropogenic activities, whereas Fe, Zn, and Cr
may more often be associated with natural sources. The content of metals in soil
is sometimes insufficient to describe the full risk that arises from the exposure
of children and adults to different heavy metals from soil (Grzetic and Ghariani
2008). Therefore in the present study, the potential health risk assessment based
Table 6.
Summary of carcinogenic risk assessment for different exposure

pathways.
Chronic daily intake
Carcinogenic risk
Oral ingestion
(mg kg1 d1)
Inhalation
(g m3)
Dermal
contact
(mg kg1 d1)
Cu
Pb
5.90 105
7.47 105
1.06 105
1.34 105
1.73 107
2.19 107
Cr
1.70 105
3.05 106
4.99 108
Zn
Fe
1.77 105
1.61 103
3.17 106
2.89 104
5.18 108
4.73 106
Metal
Oral
ingestion
6.35 107
Inhalation
Dermal
contact
1.61
1.86109
1010
3.66
108
Total risk = 6.73 107
663
664
5.38 104 2.97 108
1.22 104 6.76 109
1.27 104 7.02 109
1.16 102 6.41 107
Pb
Cr
Zn
Fe
Cumulative
noncarcinogenic
hazard
4.26 104 2.35 108
Cu
Inhalation
(mg m3)
Metal
CDI
1.19
106
1.51
106
3.43
107
3.56
107
3.25
105
Dermal
contact
(mg kg1
d1)
Child
Dermal
contact
Oral
ingestion
(mg kg1
d1)
Inhalation
(mg m3)
9.30 103
2.0 101
1.24 103 6.41 107
4.24 104 1.19 106 1.36 105 7.02 109
4.08 102 8.80 103 1.31 105 6.76 109
1.54 101 4.30 104 5.77 105 2.97 108
1.06 102 2.98 105 4.56 105 2.35 108
Oral
ingestion
HQ
CDI
Non-carcinogenic hazard index for child and adult for different exposure pathways.
Oral
ingestion
(mg kg1
d1)
Table 7.
1.82
107
2.30
107
5.24
108
5.44
108
4.97
106
Dermal
contact
(mg kg1
d1)
Adult
2.21 102
4.54 105
4.38 103
1.65 102
1.14 103
Oral
ingestion
HQ
1.41
103
4.54
106
6.57
105
1.34
103
1.81
107
Dermal
contact
on the USEPA model (1989, 1997, 2001) was conducted for a lifetime exposure to
metals-contaminated urban soil through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact.
For this purpose, chronic daily intakes (CDIs) of Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Fe metals via
ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact were calculated. The chronic daily intake
of the metals is of major concern, as their cumulative effect could result in several
health complications for children and adults in the region (Olawoyin et al. 2012).
CDI values were used to calculate both the cancer risk and HQ.
The summary of carcinogenic risk assessment is presented in Table 6. Total cancer
risks for metals from different exposure pathways are Risking (6.35 107) > Riskinh
(3.67 108) > Riskdermal (1.86 109). Although the carcinogenic risk from exposure to Pb through oral ingestion in most of the samples was less than 106, in some
areas of the city the carcinogenic risk from oral ingestion of lead-contaminated soil
exceeds the value of 1 106. Lead contamination of urban soil may pose adverse
effect on human health. Children are more susceptible than adults to Pb exposure in
urban environments because of the properties of Pb as a neurotoxin (Schmidt 2010;
Luo et al. 2012a). It inhibits hemoglobin production and also affects brain development. It is therefore necessary to reduce the potential risk from Pb contamination
of urban soil.
The results from the study also indicate that there is no significant carcinogenic
lifetime risk due to inhalation of soil and/or dermal contact with soil. A total cancer
risk from exposure to heavy metals through different exposure pathways is found to
be 6.73 107. Pb and Cr contributed to the overall cancer risks of heavy metals in
urban soil of Karachi city. The findings of this study are in agreement with the study of
Luo et al. (2012a). Although the probability of carcinogenic risk due to exposure to
metals-contaminated soil is smaller, the situation may become serious in the future,
thus it is necessary to prevent metals contamination in urban soils of Karachi.
CDI values for non-carcinogenic effects of metals through different exposure
pathways are presented in Table 7. Young children (up to 6 years) usually ingest
more soil than adults because of their frequent hand-to-mouth behavior, while at
the same time have a much smaller average bodyweight than adults. This may
therefore result in greater CDI values of different metals for children than adults.
Total HQ for different metals through ingestion and dermal pathways are found
less than 1. Moreover, contribution of oral ingestion and dermal contact pathways
to the overall non-cancer risks from metals-contaminated urban soil in this study is
also in agreement with the study reported by Luo et al. (2012a). The ratio of a childs
cumulative HI to an adult for the ingestion route is 9 to 1. This in accordance with
the study reported by Olawoyin et al. (2012). A childs cumulative HI for dermal
contact is 6.5 times greater than for adults. Whereas, the combined HI for children
through different routes of exposure is 8.9 times greater than for adults. It indicates
that children are more susceptible to non-carcinogenic health effects of trace metals
compared to adults. Particularly, the non-carcinogenic risk of Pb to children via oral
ingestion needs special attention.
CONCLUSION
Both the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk of heavy metals in urban
soil of Karachi through oral ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption were
665
evaluated. Risk assessment indicated that the total carcinogenic risk and noncarcinogenic hazard index are insignificant. The ratio of a childs cumulative HI
to an adult for the ingestion route is 9 to 1. The childs cumulative HI for dermal
contact is 6.5 times greater than for adults. It indicates that children are more vulnerable to non-carcinogenic health effects of trace metals compared to adults. It is
therefore necessary to prevent metals contamination in urban soils of Karachi. The
findings of this study would facilitate the decision-makers to manage and/or dispose
of contaminated soils, and minimize health risks on urban inhabitants.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was financially supported by the Dean Faculty of Science, University
of Karachi. The authors are also thankful to the Pakistan Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (PCSIR), Karachi, for providing assistance in the measurements
of metal concentrations in the laboratory.
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Human and Ecological Risk Assessment:

Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals

Zahida Karim & Bilal Aslam Qureshi

Department of Chemistry , University of Karachi , Karachi ,

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Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 20: 658667, 2014

Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Urban

Downloaded by [103.12.121.157] at 12:57 05 July 2015

Zahida Karim and Bilal Aslam Qureshi

risk assessment, exposure pathways, metals, urban soil, children,

Downloaded by [103.12.121.157] at 12:57 05 July 2015

HRA of Heavy Metals in Urban Soil of Karachi, Pakistan

to be the important pathways of human exposure to metals-contaminated urban

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2014

Downloaded by [103.12.121.157] at 12:57 05 July 2015

Z. Karim and B. A. Qureshi

Map showing the locations of soil sampling sites.

where ET is exposure time (h d ) and PEF is soil-to-air particulate emission factor

DFSadj = {[EDchild SAchild AFchild ]/BWchild }

Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2014

HRA of Heavy Metals in Urban Soil of Karachi, Pakistan

Input parameters for the assessment of human exposure to urban soil

Downloaded by [103.12.121.157] at 12:57 05 July 2015

Grzetic and Ghariani 2008;

Average time for carcinogens (ATca )

Average time for non-carcinogens

USDOE 2011; Luo et al. 2012a

USDOE 2011; Luo et al. 2012a

Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2014

Z. Karim and B. A. Qureshi

Chronic oral reference dose (Rf Ding ) for different metals.

USDOE 2011; Luo et al. 2012a

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Riskinh = CDIinhca IUR

Riskdermal = [CDIdermalca CSFing ]/ABSGI

CDIinhnc = [C EF ET ED]/[PEF 24 ATnc ]

CDIdermalnc = {[C SA AF ABSd EF ED]/[BW ATnc ]} 106

Hazard Quotient (HQ) was calculated by dividing the non-carcinogenic chronic

Chronic inhalation reference concentration (Rf Cinh ) and dermal

Rf Ddermal = Rf Ding ABSGI

Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2014

HRA of Heavy Metals in Urban Soil of Karachi, Pakistan

Descriptive statistics for the concentration (mg Kg1) of metals in urban

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Risk = Risking + Riskinh + Riskdermal

The cumulative non-carcinogenic hazard, expressed as the Hazard Index (HI), is

HQ = HQ ing + HQ inh + HQ dermal

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Summary of carcinogenic risk assessment for different exposure

Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2014

Total risk = 6.73 107

5.38 104 2.97 108

1.22 104 6.76 109

1.27 104 7.02 109

1.16 102 6.41 107

4.26 104 2.35 108

1.24 103 6.41 107

4.24 104 1.19 106 1.36 105 7.02 109