Effect of waste water on heavy metal accumulation in Hamedan province vegetables

Abstract

The objective of this research was to elucidate the effect of waste water on heavy metal concentration in vegetables. To this purpose a region fertilized with waste water (Najafi Boolvar, Hamedan, Iran) was chosen as a polluted area and a region without any waste water pollution (Heydareh, Hamedan, Iran) as a control area. Eight kinds of vegetables were collected from both areas, separately and after preparing, Pb, Zn, Cu and Mn concentrations of them, were measured by using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Present results showed that concentration of some heavy metals in vegetables grown in Najafi Boolvar was several times as high as that in Heydareh. According to the results of present study, waste water have special problems for vegetables and thus for human health, because of ability of accumulating heavy metals in soil and biological accumulation of these elements in food chain. © 2009 Asian Network for Scientific Information.