Original scientific paper
Heavy Metals and Metalloid Content in Vegetables and Soil Collected from the Gardens of Zagreb, Croatia
Dinko Puntarić
; »Josip Juraj Strossmayer« University Osijek, School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Osijek, Croatia
Domagoj Vidosavljević
; V
Vlatka Gvozdić
; »Josip Juraj Strossmayer« University Osijek, Department of Chemistry, Osijek, Croatia
Eda Puntarić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Biology Department, Environmental Sciences Direction, Zagreb, Croatia
Ida Puntarić
; Zagreb County Institute for Emergency Medicine, Velika Gorica, Croatia
Dijana Mayer
; Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Jasna Bošnir
; Zagreb Public Health Institute, Department of Health Ecology, Zagreb, Croatia
Dario Lasić
; Zagreb Public Health Institute, Department of Health Ecology, Zagreb, Croatia
Matijana Jergović
; Zagreb Public Health Institute, Department of Health Ecology, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Klarić
; »Josip Juraj Strossmayer« University Osijek, Faculty of Agriculture, Osijek, Croatia
Marina Vidosavljević
; Vinkovci General Hospital, Department for Internal Medicine, Vinkovci, Croatia
Ivačica Krivdić
; SINACO Ltd., Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Aim of this study was to determine concentration of Pb, Cd, As and Hg in green leafy vegetables and soil in the urban area of Zagreb, Croatia and to determine if there is a connection between the contamination of soil and vegetables. Green leafy vegetables and soil samples were taken from the gardens located in the outskirts of the city. Concentrations of Pb, Cd, As and Hg were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry; showing that average concentrations of metals and metalloids in vegetables and in soil, regardless of the location of samplingwere below the maximum allowed concentra- tion (MAC). The analysis determined thatmetal concentrations in only nine vegetable samples (9%) were above maxi- mum allowed values prescribed by national and European legislation (three with higher concentrations of Pb, one with a higher concentration of Cd and five with higher concentrations of Hg). Concentrations of contaminants present in the analysed samples, in general, are lower than the ones published in similar studies. The final distribution and concentra- tion of contaminants in vegetables of Zagreb, besides industry and traffic, is affected by the dominant wind direction.
Keywords
atomic absorption spectroscopy; metals; metalloids; soil; vegetables; Zagreb
Hrčak ID:
118303
URI
Publication date:
30.9.2013.
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