Investigation of Heavy Metals in Vegetables of Vegetable Farms in Sanandaj

Background and Objective: Vegetables have an important role in healthy diet. Contamination of vegetables through the use of water contaminated with heavy metals can lead to bio-accumulation in the body of consumers. This study was conducted to measure the amount of heavy metals including chromium, cadmium and arsenic in vegetables of vegetable farms of Sanandaj, in 2016. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive-cross sectional study which120 samples were randomly selected and harvested during 6 months. The atomic absorption method was used to measure heavy metals. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22 with significance level of 0.05. Findings: The results of this study showed that the mean of chromium and cadmium concentrations in different varieties of vegetables was different and statistically is significant (p <0.001). No significant difference was found between the mean concentrations of arsenic in different vegetables. The mean of chromium and cadmium concentrations in vegetables were higher than standard and arsenic levels were at the standard level. The measured levels of chromium and cadmium in different vegetables were higher than those recommended by FAO and WHO for vegetables. Conclusion: The use of sewage to irrigate some part of these vegetables and probably improper fertilization were the reasons for high levels of heavy metals in them, which is recommended to be corrected.

کلیدواژه ها:

Heavy metals ، Vegetables ، Vegetable farms ، Wastewater ، Sanandaj