The Heavy Metal Pollution Status and Health Risks Associated with 50 Tea Samples Marketed in Guangzhou, China

Abstract While concerns exist regarding teas’ heavy metal contamination, originating from geological factors and anthropogenic activities, the study aims to evaluate the prevailing levels of contamination and assess the potential health hazards linked to tea consumption in Guangzhou. A total of 50 tea samples (comprising black tea, green tea, oolong tea and dark tea) were systematically collected from three districts of Guangzhou (Baiyun, Tianhe and Haizhu) in 2023. These samples underwent analysis utilizing inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to ascertain the actual concentrations of six heavy metal elements, specifically arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). Our findings reveal that both tea variety and district influence the heavy metal content of tea, while there is no interaction between these two facts. The mean concentrations of these elements were arranged in the sequence of Cu＞Cr＞Pb＞As＞Cd＞Hg. Furthermore, we computed the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Hazard Index (HI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) for the six elements in different tea and districts. When categorized by tea types, the HI exposed on the order of dark tea>green tea> black tea＞oolong tea, while classified by districts is Baiyun>Haizhu>Tianhe. Also study suggests that the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic hazards posed by the six trace elements in samples are deemed minimal.