Food crops can be used as biomonitors to assess potential public health food safety hazards from contaminated agricultural environments. Globally, more than 800 million people grow fruits, vegetables, and grains on urban garden soils with unknown health risks. This worldwide practice has exposed consumers to pathogenic and carcinogenic risks from locally grown and imported contaminated foodstuffs such as Amaranthus cruentus and Zea mays, traditional and widely consumed crops across the globe. This study used Z. mays and A. cruentus crops to investigate the occurrence and spatial variations of aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) concentrations across the Mbale dumpsite, Uganda. Mean concentrations for Fe, Al, Zn, Mn, and Cu were high in both crops, whereas Pb, Cr, Co, Cd, As, Hg, Se, and Ni occurred in trace amounts. Using the 2 crops as biomonitors, significant variations for Al, Zn, Fe, Cr, and Co concentrations in individual crops were identified across the dump center, hill slope, and riverbank. The variations in Al, Zn, Fe, Cr, and Co concentrations were specific for crop types, crop parts, and location. The highest overall accumulation of metals was at the dump center and in crop leaves. Except Pb concentrations in Z. mays seeds, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Al concentrations in other crop parts were above World Health Organization/Food and Agricultural Organization consumer food safety limits. Therefore, Z. mays and A. cruentus consumption could pose health risks to consumers. Further health assessments and potential regulations are recommended to reduce potential health risks from metals in crops for human consumption. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:362–377. © 2019 SETAC

中文翻译：

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乌干达姆巴莱垃圾场上种植的粮食作物中的微量金属的发生和人类健康风险。

粮食作物可用作生物监测器，以评估受污染的农业环境对公共卫生食品安全的潜在危害。在全球范围内，超过8亿人在未知健康风险的城市花园土壤上种植水果，蔬菜和谷物。这种全球性的做法使消费者暴露于本地种植和进口的受污染食品（例如A菜和玉米），全球传统和广泛消费的农作物的致病和致癌风险。本研究使用Z. mays和A. cruentus作物以调查铝（Al），铬（Cr），铁（Fe），锰（Mn），钴（Co），镍（Ni），铜（Cu），锌（Zn），砷的发生和空间变化乌干达姆巴莱垃圾场中的硒，硒，镉，汞，铅和铅的浓度。两种作物中Fe，Al，Zn，Mn和Cu的平均浓度都很高，而Pb，Cr，Co，Cd，As，Hg，Se和Ni的痕量含量较高。使用这两种农作物作为生物监测器，可以发现整个农作物倾倒中心，山坡和河岸中各个农作物中Al，Zn，Fe，Cr和Co的浓度存在显着变化。Al，Zn，Fe，Cr和Co浓度的变化特定于作物类型，作物部位和位置。金属的最高累积量是在堆放中心和农作物叶片中。除铅浓度在其他作物部分中，五旬节种子，Cr，Pb，Zn和Al的浓度均高于世界卫生组织/食品和农业组织消费者食品安全限值。因此，Z。mays和A. cruentus食用可能对消费者构成健康风险。建议进一步的健康评估和潜在法规，以减少人类食用农作物中金属的潜在健康风险。Integr环境评估管理2020； 16：362-377。©2019 SETAC