ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Estimation and Bio-Availability of Toxic Metals
between Soils and Plants
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Department of Forensic Chemistry, College of Forensic Sciences, Naïf Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2017-10-25
Final revision date: 2017-12-29
Acceptance date: 2018-01-02
Online publication date: 2018-08-13
Publication date: 2018-11-20
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(1):15-24
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ABSTRACT
Heavy metals contamination of soil is one of the most alarming concerns in the debate about food
security and food safety all over the world because it determines the possible composition of food and
feeds at the root level of the food chain. Simultaneously, plants are important components of the ecosystem
as they transfer elements from abiotic and biotic environments. The primary sources of elements from the
environment to plants are air, water, and soil. The aim of this study was to determine the accumulation
levels of trace toxic heavy metals in soils and plant samples in the garden of the Al-Nadwa-Riyadh area.
Lead and cadmium were measured in the soil and plants by graphite atomic absorption spectrometry,
while arsenic and mercury were measured using hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Plant
samples were digested by 8 ml of nitric acid followed by 2 ml hydrogen peroxide, while soil samples were
digested by 6 ml concentrated nitric acid followed by 2 ml hydrofluoric acid and 2 ml hydrogen peroxide.
In soil samples, results presented here showed that levels of lead were within the set of all standards, while
cadmium exceeds the limits of FAO and EC standards. Arsenic was found to be above the FAO standard
but within the set of all other standards. On the contrary, mercury was investigated far above all the set
standards. All levels of the heavy metals in all plant samples were below the maximum permissible limit
standard values of FAO/WHO, except mercury. The results demonstrated that mean content of Hg uptake
by the plants was higher than the contents of each trace metals under test.