Assessing As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn contaminations of soil and vegetables at Brockley Road allotment in Plymouth

A research study is about assessing As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn contaminations of soil and vegetables at Brockley Road allotment in Plymouth. The allotment is located next to a vehicles scrap yard for twenty six years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn to soil and vegetables grown the allotment and to evaluate the potential risks to the allotment tenants, with the objectives were to determine total concentrations of those elements in soil and vegetables; to examine the potential sources and pathways of transport of those elements to soil and vegetables; to assess the factors influencing those elements uptake by vegetables; and to indicate potential risks to the allotment tenants. The soils and vegetables were taken and analysed using ICP- MS. The results showed that the As, Cu, Pb and Zn contents in allotment soil were generally close to the relative the natural levels in soil and in soil developed from the allotment underlying geological rocks. Only Cd level in soil was about 60% exceedingly the Environment Agency‟s SGV for Cd in allotment. Elevating the contaminants levels were possibly due to close to the scrap yard, the underlying geology and/ or the uses of agricultural applications. The Cd and Pb contents in root vegetables and Pb content in marrow were above the relative Codex Alimentaries Commission‟s regulated levels. The elevated of contaminants levels in vegetables might be due to the soil pH, organic matter content and / or the soil texture of the site i.e. silt and clay. There was a potential risk to accumulate elevated concentrations of the contaminants to the allotment tenants through directly consumption of the possible contaminated vegetables and contacted the potential polluted soil. The generic conceptual model and the CLEA model were suggested to obtain the details of potential risk of allotment contamination.Faculty Of Scienc