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EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES CONCERNING HEAVY METALS CONTAMINATION (Cu, Zn, Pb) IN LEAFY VEGETABLES

A. Pruteanu

Abstract

Heavy metals can accumulate and migrate in soil environments entering the human body mainly through the food chain and respiration and can lead to increased prevalence of chronic diseases. The aim of the study was to identify the transfer levels of heavy metals (Cu, Zn and Pb) from soil to the leaves due to the fact that most studies show that heavy metals ions enter the vegetable tissues mainly through the roots and foliage, of which root uptake being the dominant pathway. Two types of leafy plants were studied in order to identify the levels of minerals absorbed by the plants during vegetal development after planting them in flower soil mixed with heavy metals mixtures (copper, zinc and lead). Four kg of soil was homogenized with 100 mL of heavy metal mixture (Cu + Zn + Pb) with a concentration of 5% and 10%. This contaminated flower soil was introduced into flower pots and three plants of salad and parsley were planted. The blank sample was made by planting three plants of salad and parsley using uncontaminated soil. The physical and chemical properties of the soil (pH, humidity, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium and conductivity index) were also observed during the experiment. The soil moisture was maintained during the experiments (30 days) by watering the plants weekly with 50 ml of water per plant. After performing the heavy metals analysis of the cultivated plants, a higher absorption was observed in the salad with lead and copper contamination relative to the zinc absorption; salad plants presented a higher absorption compared to parsley plants.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2018/5.1/s20.050

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