Heavy metals in agricultural soils and crops and their health risks in Swat District, northern Pakistan.

Highlights: [•] Soil and food crops collected in Swat, Pakistan were analyzed for heavy metals (HMs). [•] Health risk associated with ingestion of HM-contaminated food crops were investigated. [•] The level of Cd in most of fruits and vegetables exceeded the WHO permissible limit. [•] MTF of Cd in the crops was highest, with a wide variation among the crop locations. [•] No carcinogenic risk was posed by most of the HMs except Cd, which had a HRI⩾10E−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]