234
Views
12
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Determination of Lead, Cadmium, and Persistent Organic Pollutants in Wild and Orchard-Farm-Grown Fruit in Northeastern Poland

, , &
Pages 1236-1243 | Published online: 10 Aug 2010
 

Abstract

The concentrations of the heavy metals lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) were determined in berries (blackberry, raspberry, bilberry, wild strawberry), and hazelnuts picked from plants in the wild as well as in fruit (blackberry, raspberry, blueberry) and hazelnuts picked from orchard-farmed plants in northeastern Poland. The levels of seven congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB7), γ isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH), and sum of dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane and its metabolites (ΣDDT) were also measured in plants and nuts. In addition, the concentrations of Pb, Cd, PCB7, γ-HCH, and ΣDDT were determined in the surface samples of soil from the sites of fruit picking. The highest acceptable concentrations based upon Polish standards for Pb and Cd were not exceeded in forest fruit. In wild berries, Pb occurred at a level below the detection limit, whereas the concentration of Cd ranged from 6 to 49 μg/kg fresh weight. The levels were Cd 72 μg/kg fresh weight and Pb 290 μg/kg fresh weight in raspberries from orchard plants and exceeded the maximal acceptable limit of 50 μg/kg for Cd and 200 μg/kg for Pb. The level of Pb at 210 μg/kg fresh weight in hazelnuts from orchard plants also exceeded maximal acceptable limits. Individual samples of fruit, regardless of their origin, were found to contain trace amounts of organic pollutants such as 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'–DDE) and PCB congeners 101 and 118. All soil samples contained from 3.2 to 14.9 mg/kg dry weight concentrations of Pb and most soil samples also contained Cd. Further, individual soil samples were found to contain high levels of ΣDDT (145 μg/kg), including p,p'-DDT at a concentration of 67 μg/kg. The concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POP) in wild and orchard-farm-grown fruit in northeastern Poland were generally below threshold permissible limits, and no correlation was found between levels of contaminants in soils and POP concentrations in fruit.

This work was supported by funds from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grants BST 0704-806 and 0706-802).

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 482.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.