ArticleHeliyon2024
Analysis of heavy metals and pathogen levels in vegetables cultivated using selected water bodies in urban areas of the Greater Accra Metropolis of Ghana.
Article in Heliyon, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Aligning private incentives with societal goals in smallholder agriculture.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- How Important Are the Perceptions and Barriers to Implementing On-Farm Food Safety Practices Among Salad Vegetable Farmers Evidence From Eastern Region, Ghana.International journal of food science · 2026Article
- Water Pollution Assessment and Community Perception of Major Rivers in Ghana.Environmental health insights · 2026Article
- The Impact of High Urban Temperatures on Pesticide Residues Accumulation in Vegetables Grown in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana.Journal of xenobiotics · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Open-surfaced water sources have been used to irrigate vegetable farms in cities. Open-surface water often contains unmonitored concentrations of health-threatening contaminants that pose health risks, especially when used to produce vegetables for human consumption. However, information on levels of heavy metals and faecal coliform bacteria in such vegetables in selected sites, especially in Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) of Ghana is rare. This study examines the levels of heavy metals and faecal coliform in two vegetables-lettuce and bell pepper - that were cultivated using open-surface wastewater from drains and constructed reservoirs at different locations of the GAMA. Using concurrent mixed methods, questionnaires were administered to 67 vegetable farmers, followed by the collection of vegetable samples from three urban farm sites, Haatso and Dzorwulu and Weija irrigation scheme site (WISS) for laboratory analysis. The concentrations of Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg) and Cadmium (Cd) were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy after microwave digestion of the vegetables while total faecal coliform was quantified using MacConkey-Endo broth method. The results from all three sites showed that the concentrations of Cd (=0.001 μg/mg) and Pb (=0.005 μg/mg) in lettuce were within the World Health Organization's (WHO) permissible levels. However, the Hg (≥0.309 μg/mg) and faecal coliform (>5 count/100 ml) in the vegetables from all three sites exceeded the WHO permissible limits. Therefore, consumers of vegetables from such urban farms are exposed to health risks associated with Hg and faecal coliforms. There is the need to intensify education on the health risks of consuming vegetables produced from open-surface water sources from the observed sites. The enforcement of existing phytosanitary standards to enhance food safety and the quality of urban vegetables is also recommended.
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