ICP-MS Profiling and Probabilistic Dietary Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Root, Tuber, and Bulb Vegetables

Underground vegetables are important sources of nutrients, but may accumulate potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from contaminated soils. This study determined twelve PTEs (Hg, Pb, Mn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Co, Fe, Al, Cd, and As) by ICP-MS in 32 composite samples of onion, garlic, leek, celery root, parsley root, beetroot, potato, and carrot from Serbian markets. Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were assessed using deterministic and Monte Carlo approaches. Iron, Mn, and Zn were predominant, whereas Cd, Pb, and As generally occurred at lower concentrations, with the highest Cd concentration observed in celery root. Hazard index (HI) values ranged from 7.96 × 10−4 to 2.16 × 10−1 for adults and from 9.68 × 10−4 to 3.84 × 10−1 for children. Total cancer risk (TCR) ranged from 5.69 × 10−8 to 5.14 × 10−5 for adults and from 1.61 × 10−8 to 2.14 × 10−5 for children. Monte Carlo simulation showed that P90 HI remained below 1 in both age groups, whereas P90 TCR exceeded 10−4 only in adults under the aggregate exposure scenario. Integrated lifetime TCR exceeded 10−4 in one market scenario. Sensitivity analysis identified ingestion rate as the dominant driver of aggregate risk variability, followed by Cd, with As additionally contributing to TCR variability. Overall, the findings support targeted Cd and As monitoring, while cancer risk estimates remain conditional on the assumed Cd slope factor.