Abstract:
Vegetables are vital to the human diet, and in particular provide the well-known nutrients to
maintain normal physiological functions. The prolonged application of large amount of
fertilizers and pesticides has resulted in heavy metal accumulation in agricultural crops
including vegetables. Exposure to heavy metals by the consumption of contaminated vegetables
and its toxicity is a serious concern globally. The present study investigated the level of heavy
metals such as Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd, and Co in tomato fruit samples irrigated around
Hidabu Abote North Showa of Oromia, Ethiopia. Three sampling villages (i.e., Debela Bokolo,
Sire Morose and Haro Calenko villages) having high production compared to other villages of
the district would be included for the sample collection. The three samples would be taken at
Hidabu Abote tomato irrigation farm and composited sampling methods would be followed for
sample collection(zigzag sample) The mean concentration levels of heavy metals in tomato fruit
samples were 14 ± 0.76, 8.47 ± 0.72, 4.76 ± 1.68,3.88 ± 0.67, 0.67 ± 0.33, 22.22 ± 0.05, 3.56 ±
0.00, 1.9 ± 0.004 and ND in mg/kg in Haro Calenko site, 17.28 ± 0.2, 10.56 ± 0.32, 7.39 ± 0.02,
0.97 ± 0.336, ND, 10 ± 0.03, 3.45 ± 0.00, 0.2 ± 0.001, and ND in mg/kg in Debela Bokolo site
and 15.79 ± 1.32, 0.82 ± 0.27, 4.4 ± 1.10, 2.79 ± 0.42, ND, ND, 0.00 ± 0, 1.9 ± 0.01 and ND in
mg/kg in Sire Morose site for Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd and Co, respectively. The
concentrations of Cobalt (Co) in the studied tomato were below the detection limit. The
concentration levels of lead and cadmium exceeded the standards set by the world Health
Organization (WHO/FAO).The study showed hazard quotient (HQ) to be less than 1 suggesting
acceptable level of non-carcinogenic adverse health risk except for Cd, Pb and Cu. The hazard
index (HI) values of the heavy metals studied ranged were above 1, indicating non-carcinogenic
adverse health effect. This indicates that the metals possibly cause human health risks to the
consumers. Consequently, we recommend a strict regulatory control on the safety of vegetables
originated from the study area
