Trace Elements and Toxic Metals in Environmental Matrices from Mubuku Irrigation Scheme, Uganda: Human Health Implications and Risk Assessment

Trace Elements and Toxic Metals in Environmental Matrices from Mubuku Irrigation Scheme, Uganda: Human Health Implications and Risk Assessment | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Trace Elements and Toxic Metals in Environmental Matrices from Mubuku Irrigation Scheme, Uganda: Human Health Implications and Risk Assessment Brian Turyahabwe, Godswill J. Udom, Muyiwa M. Orosun, Daniel N. Obot, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6789639/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Environmental contamination of agricultural systems presents a growing public health concern, particularly in resource-limited settings. This study evaluated the levels of heavy metals in vegetables cultivated under the Mubuku irrigation scheme in Uganda and assessed associated human health risks using both deterministic and probabilistic models. Concentrations of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium and others in vegetables, soil and irrigation water were quantified using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy. Deterministic risk assessment was performed by calculating the chronic daily intake (CDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and total cancer risk (TCR). A Monte Carlo Simulation (10,000 iterations) was applied for probabilistic risk analysis to capture variability and uncertainty in exposure parameters, offering a more robust, data-driven estimation of risk distribution in the subset of human population studied. Results revealed that concentrations of As, Pb, and Hg in vegetables and multiple metals in irrigation water exceeded WHO/FAO permissible limits. THQ and HI values > 1 indicated significant non-carcinogenic risks, while TCR values in adults exceeded acceptable thresholds, signalling elevated lifetime cancer risk. These findings underscore the critical need for policy reforms, sustainable agricultural practices, environmental monitoring, safer irrigation strategies, and public health interventions to mitigate exposure-mediated health risks. Heavy metal pollution health risk assessment and analysis vegetables food safety public health Mubuku irrigation scheme Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarydataforreview.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6789639","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":465573545,"identity":"611366d7-27f6-4f2d-8ab0-882107807f9d","order_by":0,"name":"Brian Turyahabwe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kampala International University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Brian","middleName":"","lastName":"Turyahabwe","suffix":""},{"id":465573547,"identity":"ac861c87-4663-4c05-b233-901fb0e10804","order_by":1,"name":"Godswill J. 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