Environmental Concentrations of Heavy Metals and Their Health Impacts

Hazardous heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) are the most dangerous contaminants, accumulate in the environment and cause serious damages to ecosystems and human health. Generally, heavy metals are released in to environment through different natural and anthropogenic process and could contaminate the available atmosphere, hydrosphere, upper exosphere (soil) and even biosphere of the earth. Therefore, keeping in view the sources (i.e., natural and anthropogenic) this book was designed to investigate the environmental concentrations of heavy metals in agricultural soils and available foodstuffs (i.e., food crops, milk and water), where mafic and ultramafic rocks of Kohistan island arc (KIA) Indus suture zone (ISZ) and metasedimentary rocks of Indian plate (IP) are exposed. Further this book potentially assesses heavy metals bioaccumulation in human blood via foodstuffs consumption and their potential health risks in Swat valley, northern Pakistan.