Risk Assessment of Pb, Cd, and As Contamination in Common Vegetables: A Species-Specific Monte Carlo Approach

In this study, an enhanced probabilistic risk assessment system established on the basis of combining the conventional contamination indices and Monte Carlo simulation (50,000 times) was applied in the evaluation of Pb, Cd, and As pollution in five vegetables. The twenty samples were examined for metallurgical phase by graphite furnace atomic adsorption spectrophotometry (GF-AAS) following digestion in a microwave-assisted procedure. Species-specific accumulation trends were determined; wherein Mint and Leek proved to be the major Pb accumulators (1.95–2.45 µg/g dry weight), Basil accumulated Cd to a great extent (0.15–0.21 µg/g) and Spinach had fluctuating accumulation of As (0.01–0.30 µg/g). Augmented Monte Carlo calculation with total sensitivity monitoring identified Lead as the greatest mean Hazard Quotient (2.74×10⁻⁷, 95% CI: [1.53×10⁻⁷, 4.21×10⁻⁷]) and Cadmium increased cancer risk (1.99×10⁻¹⁰, 95% CI: [2.69×10⁻¹⁰, 3.54×10⁻¹⁰]). Statistical validation established sufficient statistical power (0.85) and method precision (RSD); Pb 8.5%, Cd 11.2%, As 12.8%). Even though all of the risk estimates were below the levels of regulation, the probabilistic approach showed the critical exposure factors and the species-specific monitoring needed by scientific food safety management.