Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Cr, Cd and Pb) in vegetables and the soil contaminating levels as a result of irrigation using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS). The wet digestion and sequential fractionation extraction procedures were employed to solubilize the metals from the collected samples. The results obtained from this study showed overall concentration of heavy metals Cr, Cd and Pb respectively, in the range of (2.90-3.77), (2.20-3.68) and (4.60-5.50) (mg/Kg) in the edible parts of sampled vegetables. Whereas, concentrations (mg/Kg) of the metals in the soil samples were found to be in the ranges of 22.37-66.30, 27.93-45.33 and 18.82-64.87 for Cr, Cd and Pb, respectively. The modified Tessier sequential extraction procedure was used to fractionate the above three metals from the soil samples into five fractions. In this study the heavy metals were predominantly concentrated in residual fraction (F5); since lead was mainly associated with the organic matter bounded fraction (F4) (34.33-43.45%), it was found to be more bioavailable and mobile than the other investigated heavy metals. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Cd and Pb) in the soil and vegetable samples were above the recommended limit of both WHO and FAO. But Pb for the soil samples was smaller than WHO and FAO recommended limit. Based on facts obtained from this study we suggests concerned official body (ies) to take the necessary precaution measures for cleaning the polluted area. Key words: Heavy metals, sequential fractionation, eastern industry zone.
Highlights
the major purpose of this study was to find out the level of heavy metals
The soil and vegetable samples were subjected to wet-digestion
the concentration of heavy metals were determined via FAAS
Summary
Heavy metals are extremely persistent in the environment. They are non-biodegradable and non-thermo degradable and readily accumulate to toxic levels.Vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and fibers and have beneficial antioxidative effects. Heavy metals are extremely persistent in the environment. They are non-biodegradable and non-thermo degradable and readily accumulate to toxic levels. The intake of heavy metal contaminated fruits. Unlike many other pollutants associated with the environments, metals are nonbiodegradable and can undergo biomagnifications in living tissues. Uptake and accumulation of heavy metals by plants is either via the roots and foliar surfaces (Sawidis et al, 2001). Some factors which affect metal uptake include soil pH, metal solubility, soil conductivity nature, stages of plant growth and plant species type (Ismail et al, 2005; Sharma et al, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call