Environmental assessment of vegetable crops grown on the territory of Ust-Kamenogorsk

Abstract

In this research work, an ecological assessment of vegetable crops that were grown on the territory of an industrial city is given. Potato tubers, beet roots, carrots, cabbage heads and tomatoes were selected for chemical analysis. Samples were taken in different pollution zones of the city – in the northern industrial zone, in the northeastern industrial zone, in the central residential zone, in the suburban zone. In the prepared samples of vegetable crops, the content of heavy metals – Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd was determined. The results of chemical analysis showed that vegetables grown on the soils of Ust-Kamenogorsk differ greatly in the content of the studied heavy metals and in some areas exceed the hygienic norm. It should be noted that high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil are fully reflected in plant products. It turned out that beets and carrots are good accumulators of heavy metals, while tomatoes accumulate them to a lesser extent. High concentrations of cadmium and lead have been found in horticultural crops. In this article, the limits of variation of heavy metals in vegetable crops are given, the accumulation coefficients and biological absorption coefficients are calculated.

Key words: heavy metals, soil pollution, vegetable crops, environmental assessment.