Abstract
The monitoring of soil quality should be a control tool used to reduce the adverse health effects arising from exposure to toxic chemicals in soil through cultivated crop absorption. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the monitoring and control system of soil quality in Poland, in terms of consumer safety, for agricultural plants cultivated in areas with known serious cadmium contamination, such as Silesia Province. To achieve the objective, the contents of cadmium in soils and vegetables in the Silesia administrative area were examined. The obtained results were compared with the results of soil contamination from the quality monitoring of arable soil in Poland. The studies show a significant exceedance of the permissible values of cadmium in soil samples and the vegetables cultivated on that soil. The threat to consumer health is a valid concern, although this threat was not indicated by the results of the national monitoring of soil quality. The results indicated an unequal distribution of risk to consumers resulting from contaminated soil. Moreover, the monitoring systems should be designed at the local or regional scale to guarantee the safety of consumers of edible plants cultivated in the areas contaminated with cadmium.
Highlights
Most heavy metals enter the human body via food or by the consumption of edibles grown on contaminated soil
The number of measurement and control points designated under the monitoring of the chemistry of arable soil in Poland, located in Silesia and Lower Silesia provinces, is comparable to the Lublin or Mazovia provinces, which are not as contaminated by heavy metals (20 points in the Lower Silesia Province, 18 in the Silesia Province, 20 in the Lublin Province, 20 in the Mazovia Province) (Fig. 1)
The study showed over normative concentrations of cadmium in samples of arable soil from the Silesia Province and in vegetables cultivated 25 Page 8 of 9 on that soil, which could be a significant risk factor for consumers of food crops grown locally
Summary
Most heavy metals enter the human body via food or by the consumption of edibles grown on contaminated soil. This route is the main source of a population’s exposure to hazardous substances such as cadmium, lead, and zinc (Hartwig 2013; Needleman et al 1990). Considering the level of consumer exposure to cadmium, particular attention should be paid to the contamination of vegetables, the source of the greatest accumulation of this metal, both through the root system from the contaminated soil and as a result of atmospheric fallout on above-ground parts of the plant (Ociepa-Kubicka and Ociepa 2012; Wang et al 2010). Food safety is an important factor affecting consumer health, and it is essential for public health (WHO 2010)
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