Book with abstracts from the COST Action 0905 meeting in ... - UMB

ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL (PB, CD, ZN)
CONCENTRATIONS IN SOIL AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE
CONTENTS OF THESE METALS IN PLANTS
Jadwiga Gzyl, Elżbieta Kulka, Włodzimierz Łukasik
Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, 6 Kossutha St., 40-844 Katowice, Poland
gzyl@ietu.katowice.pl
A research on soil and plant contamination with heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn) in garden
allotments and plots (fallow lands) located in the vicinity of non-ferrous metal plants in
Piekary Śląskie, Poland was carried out.
Representative samples of soil and plants (celery and parsley leaves plus carrot and celery
roots) from 11 allotment complexes (each of them consisting of 50-200 individual
allotment gardens) and also soil and grass samples from 20 fallow plots were collected.
Levels of toxic metals were determined using a flame AAS technique.
Concentrations in soil and plants were assessed based on the permissible values of these
metals in particular environmental media. Pearson correlations (r) between the contents of
metals in plants and their contents in soil were calculated and assessed.
In majority of cases the correlations were statistically significant (positive correlations with
a confidence level of 0.05), which confirms the strong impact of metal concentrations in
soil on their concentrations in plants, as well as the existence of mutual correlations
between the investigated metals.