Heavy Metals Risk Assessment for Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Grown in Soils at Borg El Arab Region – Egypt

High concentrations of Co, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were found in potatoes sampled collected from overused phosphate fertilizer - soils, which increased the daily intake of metals in food. However, the ingestion of potatoes from soils affected by phosphate fertilizers posed a low health risk when compared with the health risk index of 1 for heavy metals. Nevertheless, the long-term application of phosphate fertilizers, containing high leads of heavy metals, would affect the vegetable production from these fields and raise great concerns about the potential health risks of heavy metal contents of crops grown in such soils. This has been recorded in potatoes grown in Borg El Arab west Alexandria. This study found that long-term phosphate fertilizer use led to a growing accumulation of heavy metals in soils. Thus, heavy metal concentrations should be periodically monitored in vegetables grown in these soils. It would also be beneficial to implement effective remediation technologies to minimize possible impacts on human health.