Monitoring of Lead (Pb) Pollution in Soils and Plants Irrigated with Untreated Sewage Water in Some Industrialized Cities of Punjab, India

Soil and plant samples were collected from sewage and tubewell irrigated sites from three industrially different cities of Punjab (India) viz. Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Malerkotla. The extent of lead (Pb) pollution was assessed with respect to background concentration of tubewell irrigation. In sewage irrigated surface soil layer (0–15 cm), the extent of Pb accumulation was 4.61, 4.20 and 2.26 times higher than those receiving tubewell irrigation sites in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Malerkotla, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that soil pH, organic carbon, calcium carbonate and clay were significant soil parameters explaining the variation in available soil Pb. The mean Pb content in plants receiving sewage irrigation was 4.56, 5.48 and 2.72 times higher than tubewell irrigation in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Malerkotla, respectively. The content of Pb in plants receiving sewage irrigation revealed that, assuming a weekly consumption of 500–1000 g of vegetables grown on sewage irrigated soils by an adult of 70 kg body weight, the Pb intake may far exceed the World Health Organization proposed tolerable weekly intake of Pb.