Monitoring of heavy metals in fodder and animal husbandry products of the Polissia zone of Ukraine

Abstract

With a significant concentration of pollutants in the environment, they accumulate in plants, the feeding of which will lead to the transfer of toxic elements to the animal’s body. Even a small concentration of heavy metals or radionuclides adversely affects both the animal and human bodies. Therefore, the monitoring of Pb and Cd in feed, milk, and meat during their production in the territory of the Polissia zone of Ukraine is relevant and requires further comprehensive study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the content of heavy metals in feed and slaughter products of animals raised in the Polissia zone with various levels of radioactive contamination. The research was carried out on young pigs and steers, which were put to fattening. The paper used the atomic absorption method for determining the content of toxicants in samples and the method of variation statistics for processing the results of the study. The results of studies of the content of Pb and Cd in the samples indicate the presence of substantial fluctuations in heavy metals within individual farms. As the level of 137Cs soil contamination increases, the concentration of toxicants in feed, milk, and the longest back muscle of the animals under study increases. Exceeding of the maximum permissible concentration of Pb in milk (33.8 %) and Cd (41.2 %) was established. The concentration of Cd exceeded the established level in 72.2% of the examined samples of the longest back muscle of cattle and 80.0% of the samples of the longest back muscle of pigs. The Cd content in all feed samples under study was considerably higher than the established norm. The greatest excess of the toxicant was found in samples of hay, straw (41.9 %), cake and meal (60 %). Thus, indicators of the quality of feed and livestock products produced in the farms of the Polissia zone of Zhytomyr Oblast, affected by the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, indicate that the concentration of Pb and Cd in the milk of dairy cows, muscle tissue of young cattle and pigs in most of the analysed sample exceeds sanitary and hygienic requirements. Therefore, to obtain milk and meat within the limits of current regulatory requirements, reducing the accumulation of heavy metals in feed for feeding animals and poultry stays a topical issue.