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Copper Concentrations Found from Drinking Water, Soils, and Vegetables

Received: 20 January 2022     Accepted: 16 June 2022     Published: 14 February 2023
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Abstract

Humans, animals, and plants need copper for growth and development, but it can be an irritant to humans. The daily maximum limit of copper for humans is 10-12 µg day-1 and excess concentrations of copper can cause nausea, diarrhea, and anorexia. In plants, excess copper concentrations cause chlorosis, stunted growth, and denaturing of macromolecules. Only 10 mg kg-1 of copper can be accumulated by plants. The maximum allowable concentration in agricultural soils is 6.6 mg kg-1. The concentration of copper in drinking water should not exceed 1 mg L-1. When copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, several additional controlling measures must be undertaken. In waste, the allowable concentration is 16 mg kg-1. The hypothesis of the study was that copper would be found in the vegetables grown from the agricultural soils. Cabbage, green pepper, spinach, and tomato were grown for thirteen weeks. The soil and vegetables were digested, and the copper concentrations were measured using an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The highest total and extractable copper concentrations found in the soil were 73 mg kg-1 and 26 mg kg-1, respectively. More than 20 and 32 mg kg-1 of copper was found in the shoot and roots of the vegetables, respectively. More than 11 mg L-1 of copper was found in the tap water. The results indicated that the copper concentrations from the soil, water, and vegetables exceeded the allowable concentrations.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 12, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13
Page(s) 18-22
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Copper, Vegetables, Tap Water, Extractable, Lugelweni, Soil

References
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  • APA Style

    Hlalanathi Gwanya, Jennifer Laifa. (2023). Copper Concentrations Found from Drinking Water, Soils, and Vegetables. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 12(1), 18-22. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13

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    ACS Style

    Hlalanathi Gwanya; Jennifer Laifa. Copper Concentrations Found from Drinking Water, Soils, and Vegetables. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2023, 12(1), 18-22. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13

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    AMA Style

    Hlalanathi Gwanya, Jennifer Laifa. Copper Concentrations Found from Drinking Water, Soils, and Vegetables. Am J Environ Prot. 2023;12(1):18-22. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13,
      author = {Hlalanathi Gwanya and Jennifer Laifa},
      title = {Copper Concentrations Found from Drinking Water, Soils, and Vegetables},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {12},
      number = {1},
      pages = {18-22},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20231201.13},
      abstract = {Humans, animals, and plants need copper for growth and development, but it can be an irritant to humans. The daily maximum limit of copper for humans is 10-12 µg day-1 and excess concentrations of copper can cause nausea, diarrhea, and anorexia. In plants, excess copper concentrations cause chlorosis, stunted growth, and denaturing of macromolecules. Only 10 mg kg-1 of copper can be accumulated by plants. The maximum allowable concentration in agricultural soils is 6.6 mg kg-1. The concentration of copper in drinking water should not exceed 1 mg L-1. When copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, several additional controlling measures must be undertaken. In waste, the allowable concentration is 16 mg kg-1. The hypothesis of the study was that copper would be found in the vegetables grown from the agricultural soils. Cabbage, green pepper, spinach, and tomato were grown for thirteen weeks. The soil and vegetables were digested, and the copper concentrations were measured using an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The highest total and extractable copper concentrations found in the soil were 73 mg kg-1 and 26 mg kg-1, respectively. More than 20 and 32 mg kg-1 of copper was found in the shoot and roots of the vegetables, respectively. More than 11 mg L-1 of copper was found in the tap water. The results indicated that the copper concentrations from the soil, water, and vegetables exceeded the allowable concentrations.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Copper Concentrations Found from Drinking Water, Soils, and Vegetables
    AU  - Hlalanathi Gwanya
    AU  - Jennifer Laifa
    Y1  - 2023/02/14
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    SP  - 18
    EP  - 22
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5699
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231201.13
    AB  - Humans, animals, and plants need copper for growth and development, but it can be an irritant to humans. The daily maximum limit of copper for humans is 10-12 µg day-1 and excess concentrations of copper can cause nausea, diarrhea, and anorexia. In plants, excess copper concentrations cause chlorosis, stunted growth, and denaturing of macromolecules. Only 10 mg kg-1 of copper can be accumulated by plants. The maximum allowable concentration in agricultural soils is 6.6 mg kg-1. The concentration of copper in drinking water should not exceed 1 mg L-1. When copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, several additional controlling measures must be undertaken. In waste, the allowable concentration is 16 mg kg-1. The hypothesis of the study was that copper would be found in the vegetables grown from the agricultural soils. Cabbage, green pepper, spinach, and tomato were grown for thirteen weeks. The soil and vegetables were digested, and the copper concentrations were measured using an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The highest total and extractable copper concentrations found in the soil were 73 mg kg-1 and 26 mg kg-1, respectively. More than 20 and 32 mg kg-1 of copper was found in the shoot and roots of the vegetables, respectively. More than 11 mg L-1 of copper was found in the tap water. The results indicated that the copper concentrations from the soil, water, and vegetables exceeded the allowable concentrations.
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa

  • Department of Natural Sciences & Environmental Health, Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, USA

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