Pb and Cd Contamination in Agricultural Crops of Corlu: The Effects of Transportation and Industry

Abstract

Tissue cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentrations of agricultural crops grown in and around Corlu district in the vicinity of an industrial zone and main highway leading from Istanbul to Europe were investigated. Plant samples were taken from 11 locations and were analysed by ICP (inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry). The concentrations of lead were between 0.221-0.383 mg kg(-1) in wheat, 0.526-0.754 mg kg(-1) in sunflower, 5.865-0.223 mg kg(-1) in corn, 1.469-3.517 mg kg(-1) in lettuce, 2.013-2.323 mg kg(-1) in parsley, 0.587 mg kg(-1) in peppers, 2.672 mg kg(-1) in potatoes and 1.367-4.586 mg kg-1 in onions. The samples contained cadmium concentrations between 0.026-0.048 ppm in wheat, 0.072-0.093 ppm in sunflower, 0.452-0.025 ppm in corn, 0.501-0.621 ppm in lettuce, 0.209-0.396 ppm in parsley, 0.014 ppm in pepper, 0.462 ppm in potato and 0.213-0.513 in onion. Accordingly, heavy metal pollution was detected in the plants growing in and in the surroundings of Corlu according to the Turkish Food Codex requiring measures against the pollutant sources.