The Analysis of Heavy Metals in Samples of Honey using X-Ray Fluorescence and Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

A daunting reality is haunting scientists as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is declining bee population in the United States (1). A concrete conclusion as to why CCD is happening remains unclear but extensive research and studies are leaning towards a toxic component in honey to bees called hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) (1). HMF has been a culprit in question for a while but researchers are still on the fence as to whether it should be concluded as such. It is theorized that HMF is formed in very warm temperatures and catalyzed by a metal in honey; manganese (1). Manganese is one of the many heavy metal elements in honey but is under suspicion that it creates HMF in honey in such magnitude that it kills off the bees who part take in it. In this study, a honey sample was put under various conditions to investigate the presence of heavy metals in honey. Some of the main metals of interest for this study were Mn, Fe, and Zn. It was found that Mn in the honey which was x=2.45ugMn/ghoney, Fe in the honey was found to be x=2.72ugFe/ghoney, and Zn in the honey was found to be x=.95ugZn/ghoney