Human health risk assessment of metal contamination in cereals and pulses in the mica mining areas of Jharkhand, India

• PCA identified soil, water, and dust as a primary sources of metal contamination. • Potential health risks were indicated for consumers based on EDI and THQ. • Geometric mean Hazard Index (HI) was above unity (10.28), indicating health risks. • HI varied from 7.22 to 18.29 across locations depicting significant health risks. • Health risk associated with metals was much higher for Rice followed by wheat. This study was carried to investigate the contamination levels of heavy in food crops (rice, wheat, maize, and pulses) grown in the vicinity of the mica mine in Jharkhand, India. Except for Pb and Zn in select places, the metal concentrations in the food crops were below the maximum allowed levels for food in India. The principal component analysis identified three components that accounted for 71.3 % of the variability in the data. The components that were retrieved indicated that soil, irrigation water, and air dust deposition could be the sources of metals in the food crops. The estimated daily intake (EDI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) of food crop consumption were used to highlight the potential health concerns associated with metal exposure. In several samples, local individuals' daily intakes of Pb was greater than the WHO's recommended daily intakes of these heavy metals. Taking into account the geometric mean of metal concentrations in food crops samples from the, the hazard index (HI) for the consumers was 10.28 which is far above unity. Pb, Co, and As were the primary contributors to the potential non-carcinogenic risk. The HI ranged from 7.22 to 18.29 across different locations, indicating a significant health risk to the consumers of locally grown food crops in the vicinity of the mica mining areas.