title: Heavy metals and metalloid content in vegetables and soil collected from the gardens of Zagreb, Croatia.
abstract: Aim of this study was to determine concentration of Pb, Cd, As and Hg in green leafy vegetables and soil in the urban area of Zagreb, Croatia and to determine if there is a connection between the contamination of soil and vegetables. Green leafy vegetables and soil samples were taken from the gardens located in the outskirts of the city. Concentrations of Pb, Cd, As and Hg were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry; showing that average concentrations of metals and metalloids in vegetables and in soil, regardless of the location of sampling were below the maximum allowed concentration (MAC). The analysis determined that metal concentrations in only nine vegetable samples (9%) were above maximum allowed values prescribed by national and European legislation (three with higher concentrations of Pb, one with a higher concentration of Cd and five with higher concentrations of Hg). Concentrations of contaminants present in the analysed samples, in general, are lower than the ones published in similar studies. The final distribution and concentration of contaminants in vegetables of Zagreb, besides industry and traffic, is affected by the dominant wind direction.
authors.affiliation: "Josip Juraj Strossmayer" University Osijek, School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Osijek, Croatia. dinko.puntaric1@gmail.com
authors.forename: Dinko
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Puntarić
authors.forename: Domagoj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vidosavljević
authors.forename: Vlatka
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gvozdić
authors.forename: Eda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Puntarić
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Puntarić
authors.forename: Dijana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bosnir
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lasić
authors.forename: Matijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jergović
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Klarić
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vidosavljević
authors.forename: Ivancica
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krivdić
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005506:Food Contamination; D051639:Gardening; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014504:Urban Health; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil