Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Citrus Varieties from Selected Orchards in Benue State, Nigeria

Contamination of fruits by heavy metals has serious health implication on consumers especially when their concentrations are above the permissible limits set by regulatory bodies. This study assesses the health risk of heavy metals in three orange varieties using the following parameters: Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Hazard Index (HI). The result showed that the EDI for Pb and Hg are below the RfD values of 0.0003 and 0.001 mg/kg/ day, which is evidence that no risk involved in consuming the oranges. The THQ < 1 is an indication that no carcinogenic health effects of ingestion of heavy metals associated with the consumption of the orange fruits by both Male and Female. The HI < 1 means that the population has no potential cancer risk arising from the consumption of these oranges associated with the heavy metals studied from the consumption of oranges from Benue State.