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RESEARCH ARTICLE
The preliminary survey on the concentration of potentially
toxic elements (PTEs) in salt samples collected from Tehran, Iran:
a probabilistic health risk assessment
Leili Abdi
1
&Gholam Reza Jahed-Khaniki
1
&Ebrahim Molaee-Aghaee
1
&Nabi Shariatifar
1
&Shahrokh Nazmara
2
&
Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
3
Received: 18 January 2021 /Accepted: 31 May 2021
#The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021
Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb),
and mercury (Hg) in refined, rock, and sea salt samples collected (n=60) from Tehran’s local market by the aid of an inductively
coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Besides, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks for children and adults were
estimated with the aid of the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. The rank order ofPTEs in refined saltwas Pb (13.378 μg/g)
>Cu(6.448μg/g) > Zn (0.363 μg/g) > As (0.184 μg/g) > Hg (0.049 μg/g); in sea salt was Pb (22.972 μg/g) > Cu (3.963 μg/g) >
Zn (0.986 μg/g) > As (0.387 μg/g) > Hg (0.224 μg/g); and in rock salt was Cu (31.622 μg/g) > Pb (22.527 μg/g) > Zn (0.638 μg/
g) > As (0.235 μg/g) > Hg (0.095 μg/g). It was concluded that the average concentration of some of the investigated PTEs was
higher than the national standard limits and Codex’s guidelines. A significant non-carcinogenic risk (TTHQ > 1), except for adult
consumers, was noted based on the health risk assessment who consume refined salt. All consumers were also at the threshold
carcinogenic risk of As (between 10
−4
and 10
−6
). Given the considerable health risks due to consumption (refined, rock, and sea
salt), approaching effective monitoring plans to control the PTEs concentrations in salt distributed in Tehran are recommended.
Keywords Potentially toxic element (PTEs) .Salt .ICP-MS .Risk assessment .Food safety
Introduction
One of the main routes for PTEs entering the human body is
the consumption of contaminated food products. As one of the
food seasonings and flavoring ingredients, salt plays a vital
role in daily meals as a flavor enhancer and preservative agent
against spoilage alongside salty flavor (Shamsollahi et al.
2019). While this important segment of daily diet can be con-
taminated by PTEs, due to the significant amount of salt con-
sumed in the world sourced from mines and lakes, the con-
sumption of PTEs contaminated salts can result in serious
health issues (Eftekhari et al. 2014a). In this context, salt sam-
ples obtained from rock salt contain aluminum (Al), chromi-
um (Cr), barium (Ba), bromine (Br), cobalt (Co), Cu, Zn, As,
Hg, Pb, and other elements in trace amounts (Pourgheysari
et al. 2012). Some of the elements mentioned above are
micronutrients. They are necessary to maintain enzymatic bal-
ance in the human body in specific concentrations (such as Zn,
Cu) (Shariatifar et al. 2017), while non-essential metals such
as Pb, As, and Hg may participate in several which could pose
serious health risks to consumers (Fakhri et al. 2018).
As a natural water component, it is found in soils, different
kinds of rocks, and minerals (Hadiani et al. 2015). Pb is an
element found in all parts of the soil affected by metals
smelting units, petrochemical industries, sediment disposal
units, and chemical industries (Santhanakrishnan et al.
2016). The presence of Hg in coal and soil is a severe threat
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
*Gholam Reza Jahed-Khaniki
ghjahed@tums.ac.ir
*Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
mousavi@unicamp.br
1
Food Safety and Hygiene Division, Department of Environmental
Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of
Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public
Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Food
Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São
Paulo, Brazil
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14720-w
to the environment as it can accumulate in the food chain and
subsequently biological tissues. This element also has toxic
influences on living organisms when it accumulates on the
soil surface (Raj and Maiti 2019).
Some studies have been performed regarding the concentra-
tion of PTEs in samples collected from the market, including
edible salt (Abdi et al. 2020;Atamalekietal.2020; Dehbandi
et al. 2020; Khaneghah et al. 2020). According to Baygan et al.
(2020),thevaluesofPTEsinthesaltsamplesofUrmiaLake,
Iran, before refining were 0.040, 0.261, 0.464, and 0.254 μg/g
for Cd, Cr, Hg, As, Pb, and Nickel (Ni), respectively (Baygan
et al. 2020). In another study by Alexander Weremfo (2019), the
content of PTEs (Cd, Pb, Co, and Mn) in the edible salt samples
from Ghana were in the range of 0.08–0.27, 0.24–0.68, 1.67–
1.72, and <0.08–0.27 μg/g, respectively (Weremfo 2019). In
another investigation, the rank order of As (0.41 mg/kg) > Ni
(0.22 mg/kg) > Cd (0.17 mg/kg) > Pb (0.15 mg/kg) was reported
for PTEs in salt samples collected from Aran and Bidgol Lake,
Iran (Mostafaii et al. 2020). Based on the findings of another
investigation, PTEs concentration in salt samples obtained from
Urmia, Iran, was Ni (1.982 ± 0.021), Cd (2.461 ± 0.036), Mn
(0.192 ± 0.028), and Co (8.450 ± 0.025) mg/kg (Shariatifar et al.
2017). However, no study was conducted considering the con-
centration of PTEs of salt samples from Tehran as the biggest
metropolitan of Iran.
Therefore, in this study, the concentration of PTEs in un-
refined salts (rock salt and lake salt) and refined salt samples
were collected (n=60) from Tehran’s local market with the aid
of an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-
MS). Besides, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks
for children and adults were estimated with the aid of the
Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method.
Materials and methods
Sampling
Sixty samples of refined or unrefined (rock and sea salt) (all
available brands in Tehran, Iran’s market) were obtained from
March to May 2019. Most of the sea salt available in the
Tehran market is provided from Urmia and Aran-Bidgol salt
lakes, while the primary sources of rock salt and refined salts
are the mines of Semnan. The mentioned resources supply
about 70 % of the required non-refined salt of factories. The
random and straightforward salt sampling was carried out
from supplied edible salts in the food market, and samples
were kept in original packaging until analysis.
Chemicals and reagents
All the materials used in this research were provided by Merck
(Darmstadt, Germany). For the preparation of sample and
standards solutions, the deionized water type Milli-Q was
used. All glass/plastic ware was soaked in 20% HNO
3
over-
night. The deionized water was used for rinsing it several
times.
Sample preparation
The samples were prepared according to the method by
Soylak et al. (2008). The desired solution was prepared by
adding and dissolving 2 g of salt in 20 ml of deionized water
and adding 1 mg of dysprosium (ΙΙΙ). Diluted ammonia was
added to adjust the solution’s pH at 11 to have a dysprosium
hydroxide precipitate. After 10 min, the tubes were placed in a
centrifuge at 3000gfor 10 min and discarded the supernatant.
The volume was finally reached 2.0 ml with distilled water
(Peker et al. 2007). Due to the volatility of Hg, a different
method was used to measure Hg. First, the Hg ions in the
solution were reduced to metallic Hg by NaBH
4
and SnCl
2
.
Then Hg with carrier gas Argon was introduced into a glass
adsorbent tube. Hg atoms were measured with an atomic ab-
sorption device equipped with a hydride system(Pourgheysari
et al. 2012)
Instrumental analysis
Quantitative analysis of the PTE
S
(As, Pb, Cu, and Zn) was
conducted by an ICP-MS (Model: ICP-MS Agilent series
4500, USA), and Hg content was also measured by Perkin
Elmer 4100 atomic absorption spectrometer equipped with a
hydride generation (HG) system. The centrifuge (Universal
centrifuge, series Iran) with technical specifications (150,000
rpm, 21382 RCF) and the pH meter EIL (Kent, 7020 (were
also used.
Validation of the analytical method
Calibration curves were plotted using four concentrations of
standard solutions of each element. For each element, the cor-
relation coefficients and calibration equations were calculated.
The applied concentrations for each element’s calibration
were 1, 5, 10, and 50 μg/g. The correlation coefficients were
0.999975 for As, 0.999956 for Cu, 0.999872 for Pb, 0.999994
for Zn, and 0.999961 for Hg. The limit of detection (LOD),
the limit of quantification (LOQ), and recovery were calculat-
ed to evaluate the methods’capability. The tests of validation
were shown, which the LODs and LOQs for As, Pb, Hg, Zn,
and Cu were obtained in 0.1 μg/l (0.3 μg/l), 0.01μg/l (0.03
μg/l), 1μg/l (3 μg/l), 1 μg/l (3 μg/l), and 0.01mμ/l (0.03 μg/g),
respectively. The recoveries were within 96.1% and 101.7%
for all the studied elements. All of the measurements, includ-
ing standard solutions and salt samples, were repeated three
times.
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Statistical analysis
The distribution of retrieved data was analyzed using the
Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The normal distribution, mean,
and standard deviation (SD) statistics were used to present
concentration PTEs in salt. Pearson’s correlation matrix was
performed using SPSS (version 21; IBM Corporation, USA).
One sample t-test was used to compare the concentration of
PTE with standard limits. The significance level was consid-
ered at the level of 0.05% in a two-tailed test.
Health risk assessment
Health risk assessment can provide more informative results,
considering human exposure to contaminated environmental
samples (water, food, and air). The Monte Carlo simulation
(MCS) method is applied for estimate health risk assessment.
Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) technique with 5000 iterations
was applied to the estimated health risk according to concen-
tration, ingestion rate, and body weight in the Oracle Crystal
Ball software (Ver.11.1.2.4). Besides, included variables in
the MCS such as concentration, ingestion rate, and body
weight have lognormal distribution. All equations related to
health risk assessment are displayed in Table 1S.
Results and discussion
Concentration of PTEs in salt
In this study, the total concentration of As, Pb, Hg, Cu,
and Zn were measured in refined rock and sea salt
samples from Tehran city, Iran. The level of PTEs is
shown in Table 1. The results show that Pb and Cu con-
centrations in all three salt groups were higher than the
other metals studied.
Concentration of As
Class 1 carcinogen can cause many adverse health effects,
including different cancer and skin diseases, and affect
children’s growth and intelligence. Absorption from the
gastrointestinal tract has been cited as one of the most
critical pathways facing this dangerous element (Kim
et al. 2012). According to the current results, the rank
order of salt based on As was sea salt (0.387 ± 0.318
μg/g) > rock salt (0.235 ± 0.193μg/g) > refined salt
(0.184± 0.268 μg/g) (Table 1) and the highest amount
(1.11 μg/g) obtained in one of the sea salt samples which
was significantly higher than the standards. According to
the national standard and Codex guideline, the maximum
acceptable level of As for food-grade salt is 0.5 μg/g. The
average concentration of this metal in all three salt cate-
gories is less than the standard values recommended by
the national standard organization and Codex guideline.
As the level in sea, samples have been reported in the
range of 0.003–0.038 μg/ginUrmia,Iran(Bayganetal.
2020), and 0.41μg/g in Kashan, Iran (Mostafaii et al.
2020), which is less than standard limits and similar to
our results. As the level in the sea, salt samples were 0.04
±0.062 μg/g and 0.001±0.001μg/ginrefinedsaltsin
Korea (Kim et al. 2012),whichislessthanthevalues
reported in our research. Most of the sea salt samples
studied in our study are obtained from Lake Urmia, Iran.
Table 1 The concentration of
heavy metals in refined salt, sea,
and rock salt and (μg/g)
Salt Samples number Statistic As Pb Hg Cu Zn
Refined 20(20)
*
Mean 0.184 13.378 0.049 6.448 0.363
SD 0.268 15.073 0.036 7.920 0.300
Max 0.973 50.800 0.124 26.000 1.109
Min 0.002 < Lod < Lod < Lod 0.080
Median 0.092 9.965 0.051 3.555 0.277
Sea 20(20)
*
Mean 0.387 22.972 0.224 3.963 0.986
SD 0.318 14.010 0.134 2.518 0.771
Max 1.250 48.123 0.469 8.560 3.209
Min 0.082 7.423 0.049 1.020 0.500
Median 0.337 21.000 0.222 3.365 0.793
Rock 20(20)
*
Mean 0.235 22.527 0.095 31.622 0.638
SD 0.193 11.577 0.126 38.543 0.416
Max 0.675 38.060 0.570 91.145 1.499
Min 0.029 8.000 0.017 1.000 0.219
Median 0.182 27.165 0.050 7.136 0.511
*Contaminated samples with at least one metal
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Improper use of pesticides, entry of industrial and agricul-
tural effluents, and municipal wastewater into the lake can
be the main reasons for the lake salt’s pollution to PTEs
(Kazemi et al. 2019).
Concentration of Pb
As one of the most critical PTEs, Pb can affect various
organs and systems of the body. Systems affected by
this metal are the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system,
muscles, and kidneys. Pb has typical neurological symp-
toms including headache, fatigue, severe convulsions,
encephalopathy, lethargy to peripheral neuropathy, and
even coma (Ciobanu et al. 2012).
The rank order of salt based on Pb was sea salt (22.972
± 14.010 μg/g) > rock salt (22.527± 11.577 μg/g) > re-
fined salt (13.378± 15.073 μg/g) (Table 1). According to
the Codex guideline and national standard, the maximum
acceptable level for Pb in salt is 1 μg/g. Therefore, the
average concentration of this metal in all three salt groups
is more than the standard limits. The concentration of Pb
(μg/g) in the sea (22.972 ± 14.010 μg/g), rock (22.527±
11.577), and refined (13.378± 15.073 μg/g) salt of the
current study were very high in comparison with reported
values previously (0.239±0.178μg/g) for Chinese sea salt
(Hwang et al. 2016), (0.03–0.05 μg/g) in rock salts in
Pakistan (ul Hassan et al. 2017), and (0.66–0.15μg/g)
for refined Greek salt in Turkey (Soylak et al. 2008).
TheamountofPbinIndia’s unrefined salt samples was
15.97μg/g (Santhanakrishnan et al. 2016), close to the
values reported in our study. Pb was not found in rock
salt samples by Hwang (Hwang et al. 2016). The main
source of raw (unrefined) salt in Iran is natural dried lakes
(salt lakes), especially in Semnan province, a desert
Table 2 Comparison concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in refined, sea, and rock salt with national and Codex standard limit
Salt Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) Mean + SD (μg/g) National standard limit P-value Codex P-value
Refined As 0.184± 0.268 0.500 0.004 1 < 0.001
Hg 0.049 ± 0.036 0.050 0.26 0.100 0.026
Cu 6.448 ± 7.920 2 0.415 2 0.415
Pb 13.378± 15.073 1 0.546 1 0.365
Zn 0.363± 0.300 NM
1
NM
Sea As 0.387 ± 0.318 0.500 0.322 1 0.031
Hg 0.224 ± 0.134 0.050 <0.001 0.100 0.254
Cu 3.963 ± 2.518 2 0.415 2 0.096
Pb 22.972 ± 14.010 1 <0.001 1 <0.001
Zn 0.986 ± 0.771 NM NM
Rock As 0.235± 0.193 0.500 <0.041 1 <0.001
Hg 0.095.0 ± 0.126 0.050 0.245 0.100 0.654
Cu 31.622 ± 38.543 2 <0.001 2 <0.001
Pb 22.527 ± 11.577 1 <0.001 1 <0.001
Zn 0.638± 0.416 NM NM
1
Not mentioned
Table 3 Pearson correlation matrix among potentially toxic elements
(PTEs) in refined, sea, and rock salt
Salt PTM
As Pb Hg Cu Zn
Refined As
Pb 0.056
Hg .757** .475*
Cu .919** 0.189 .828**
Zn .559* −0.004 0.339 0.398
As Pb Hg Cu Zn
Sea As
Pb −0.189
Hg 0.13 −.691**
Cu −0.231 .980** −.642**
Zn 0.043 −0.098 −0.303 −0.147 Zn
As Pb Hg Cu 0.425
Rock As
Pb 0.067
Hg 0.202 0.213
Cu .541* −0.356 −0.362
Zn 0.425 −0.427 0.295 0.288
*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level
**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level
Environ Sci Pollut Res
province in the eastern north of Iran. The harvested salt is
mixed with local soil with a high concentration of Pb.
Therefore, insufficient refining of salt causes a high level
of Pb in salt.
Concentration of Hg
Unlike the other metals, Hg does not benefit the body,
while its entry into the body causes neurological and renal
disorders. The most important way Hg enters the human
body is through food (Molaee-aghaee et al. 2020). In this
research, the rank order of salt based on Hg was sea salt
(0.224± 0.134 μg/g) > rock salt (0.095± 0.126 μg/g) >
refined salt (0.049 ± 0.036μg/g) (Table 1). The average
concentration of Hg metal in sea and rock salt samples
was above the national standard based on the data obtain-
ed. The results for refined salt samples (0.049±0.036 μg/
g) are almost similar to the other studies conducted in Iran
(0.061–0.008 μg/g) (Pourgheysari et al. 2012) and (0.054
±0.04 μg/g) (Heshmati et al. 2014).
Concentration of Cu
Cu acts in biological systems and living organisms as a
cofactor in important enzymes as an essential element.
This biological element is present in plants, animals, and
living microorganisms. The toxicity or vitality of this el-
ement for living organisms depends on its concentration
A
B
Fig. 1 The non-carcinogenic risk
due to ingestion refined salt con-
tent of potentially toxic elements
(PTEs) in the adults (A) and chil-
dren (B)
Environ Sci Pollut Res
level (Abbasi et al. 2010. In this study, the rank order of
salt based on Cu was rock salt (31.622± 38.543 μg/g) >
refined salt (6.448± 7.920 μg/g) > sea salt (3.963 ± 2.518
μg/g) (Table 1), which is much more than the acceptable
limits by the national standard organization of Iran and
Codex guideline (2μg/g). The high levels of Cu through
the food chain and other methods may elevate cancer risk,
especially colorectal cancer, to increase free
radicals(Royer and Sharman 2020). Values 1.24±0.9 and
1.21±0.79 μg/g for kitchen and table salt in Iran by
Khanikietal.(2007) were also lower than the obtained
figures in our study. Ahemd Gad et al. (2020)reportedthe
amount of Cu in unrefined salt samples of 0.19 μg/g and
1.022μg/g, respectively, in two regions.
Concentration of Zn
Zn is one of the essential elements of the physiological
functions of the body. Improper metabolic function and
organ damage can result from a lack of essential ele-
ments such as Zn. Lack of this element plays an impor-
tant role in developing depression and accumulating Cd
in several tissues and organs of the body (Djinovic-
Stojanovic et al. 2017). In the present study, the rank
order of salt based on Zn was sea salt (0.986 ±
0.771μg/g) > rock salt (0.638± 0.416μg/g) > refined
salt (0.363± 0.300 μg/g) (Table 1). Previous studies
have shown the content 0.049–0.829 μg/g for refined
saltsinIranbyEftekharietal.(2014b), which is lower
A
B
Fig. 2 The non-carcinogenic risk
due to ingestion sea salt content of
potentially toxic elements (PTEs)
in the adults (A) and children (B)
Environ Sci Pollut Res
than our results. Table 2S presents the mean concentra-
tions of trace elements found in the current study com-
pared to previous Iran and worldwide studies (Table 2).
Correlation of PTEs in salt
Pearson correlation matrix shows a significant association
between Hg and As (0.758), Hg and Pb (−0.475), Cu and
As (0.919), and Cu and Hg (0.828) > Zn and As (0.559)
in refined salt (Table 3). Pearson correlation matrix shows
a significant association between Hg and Pb (−0.691), Cu
and Pb (0.980), and Cu and Hg (−0.642) in sea salt
(Table 3). Pearson correlation matrix shows a significant
association between Cu and As (0.541) in rock salt
(Table 3). The soil source and environment from which
the raw salt is originated and extracted may play a role in
the correlation between available PTEs in salt samples
(Sherameti and Varma 2010).
Health risk assessment
Non-carcinogenic risk
When THQ and/or TTHQ is equal to or less than 1, the
non-carcinogenic risk is not noteworthy. However, if
THQ and/or TTHQ is more than 1, the non-
carcinogenic risk is remarkable (EPA 2012). Nine-five
percent percentile of TTHQ in the adults and children
due to consumption of refined salt was 0.61 and 2.82,
respectively (Fig. 1); 95% percentile of TTHQ in the
A
B
Fig. 3 The non-carcinogenic risk
due to ingestion rock salt content
of potentially toxic elements
(PTEs) in the adults (A) and chil-
dren (B)
Environ Sci Pollut Res
adults and children due to ingestion sea salt was 1.22
and 5.66, respectively (Fig. 2); and 95% percentile of
TTHQ in the adults and children due to ingestion rock
salt was 1.08 and 5.04, respectively (Fig. 3). Except for
adult consumers due to refined salt, the consumer’ssalt
ingestion can endanger health (TTHQ > 1). In the
Alexander Weremfo (2019) study in Ghana, TTHQ
due to ingestion sea and refined salt content of PTEs
in the adults was estimated at 0.816 and 0.760, respec-
tively, which in the case of refined salt is almost the
same as our results, however, less in the case of sea
salt(Weremfo 2019). In the Gholam Reza Mostafavi
et al. (2020) study, THQ in the children and adults in
Iran, according to the ingestion lake salt content of
PTEs, was assessed. The result shows that the TTHQ
was 0.326 and 1.635, respectively (Mostafaii et al.
2020). This difference can be the higher concentration
of trace elements in the studied salt samples and the
difference in the elements analyzed in the study.
Carcinogenic risk
When carcinogenic risk CR ≤10
−6
,>10
−4
, and between
10
−4
and 10
−6
, the exposed population’s carcinogenic risk
is safe, not acceptable, and threshold, respectively (EPA
2012; Gholami et al. 2019;Pirsahebetal.2019; Rezaei
et al. 2019). The carcinogenic risk resulted from inges-
tion of refined salt content of As in the adults and chil-
dren was 1.67×10
−5
and 1.54×10, respectively (Fig. 4);
the carcinogenic risk resulted from ingestion of sea salt
A
B
Fig. 4 The carcinogenic risk due
to ingestion refined salt content of
As in the adults (A)andchildren
(B)
Environ Sci Pollut Res
content of As in the adults and children was 3.62×10
−5
and 3.38×10
−5
, respectively (Fig. 5); and carcinogenic
riskduetotheingestionrocksaltcontentofAsinthe
adults and children was 2.22×10
−5
and 2.02×10
−5
,re-
spectively (Fig. 6). In the Gholam Reza Mostafavi et al.
(2020) study, CR in the adults and children was equal to
1.27×10
−4
and 6.19×10
−4
, respectively, due to the inges-
tion of lake salt content As (Mostafaii et al. 2020)Also,
in Ahmed Gad et al. (2020) study, in the two states of
Egypt, CR in the adults due to salt ingestion was
2.93×10
−7
and 1.64×10
−4
(Gad et al. 2020). This differ-
ence may have resulted from the differences in the ele-
ments tested and differences in the source of sea salt
samples. The carcinogenic risk in all consumers was at
the threshold range (between 10
−4
and 10
−6
).
Conclusion
In this study, contamination of 60 different kinds of salt
samples to the PTEs content (As, Pb, Cd, Hg, Cu, and Zn)
in Tehran city was measured by ICP-MS, and probabilis-
tic carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks in children
and adults’consumers were estimated according to THQ
and CR. The rank order of PTEs in refined salt was Pb >
Cu>Zn>As>Hg;inseasaltwasPb>Cu>>As>Hg;
and in rock salt was Cu > Pb > Zn > As > Hg. In this
regard, Pb was the predominant PTE in refined and sea
salt samples, while Cu has the highest concentration in
rock salt samples. The health risk assessment findings
indicated that the consumers are at considerable non-
carcinogenic risk and threshold carcinogenic risk. Given
A
B
Fig. 5 The carcinogenic risk due
to ingestion sea salt content of As
in the adults (A) and children (B)
Environ Sci Pollut Res
theconsiderablehealthrisksduetoconsumption(refined,
rock, and sea salt), approaching effective monitoring
plans to control the PTEs concentrations in salt distributed
in Tehran are recommended.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary
material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14720-w.
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful for the financial support
provided by TUMS.
Authors contributions Leili Abdi: Investigation, Data curation,
Resources, Conceptualization, Methodology Writing, original
draft. Gholam Reza Jahed-Khaniki: Supervision, literature
searching, writing & editing, Shahrokh Nazmara: Software,
Conducting Risk Assessment, Supervision. Amin Mousavi
Khaneghah and Ebrahim Molaee-Aghaee and Nabi Shariatifar:
Supervision, review & editing.
Funding This work is a part of the MSc thesis report in food safety and
hygiene course in School of Public Health at Tehran University of Medical
Sciences, and this study has been funded and supported by Tehran University
of Medical Sciences (TUMS); grant no. 98-02-27-43063.
Availability of data and materials Not applicable.
Declarations
Ethics approval Not applicable.
Consent to participate The authors declare their consent to participate
in this article.
Consent for publication The authors declare their consent to publish
this article.
Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests.
A
B
Fig. 6 The carcinogenic risk due
to ingestion sea salt content of As
in the adults (A) and children (B)
Environ Sci Pollut Res
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