Abstract

The study investigated the levels of five different heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr and As) in various vegetables including roots and leaves of radish (Raphanus sativus L.), leek (Allium ampeloprasum L.), sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) cultivated along the bank of river passing through the city of Zanjan. The contributions of the vegetable to the daily intake of the heavy metals from the vegetables were determined. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to estimate and evaluate the levels of these metals in the vegetables. The results of this survey showed the following ranges (mg kg-1): 3.89-32.94, 3.15-27.68, 43.61-223.10, non-detectable and non-detectable for lead, cadmium, zinc, chromium and arsenic, respectively. Some vegetables contaminated high levels beyond the levels given by FAO and WHO for human consumption. When the mean levels of Lead and Cadmium (10.65 and 9.22 mg kg-1) were taken into account the daily intake contribution of the metals was found to be 2.32 and 2 mg for Lead and Cadmium. Increase in vegetable consumption by community the situation could worse in the future. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.