Mathematical model evaluation of heavy metal contamination in vegetables and fruits

This paper presents original studies about the occurrence of some trace metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb and Cd) in different vegetables (pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, cauliflower, cabbage, dill-leaves, parsley-leaves and roots, celery-leaves and roots, onion, garlic and potatoes) and fruits (sweet and sour cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, apples, pears and grapes) cultivated in Cenad, a non-polluted area of Banat County, Romania. The aim of this paper was to emphasise the application modality of a mathematical model to evaluate the environmental contamination correlating spectrophotometrical analysis data of soil, vegetables and fruit samples, to evaluate the pollution level of a geographical area based only on the heavy metals content analysis. For all fruit and vegetable samples the average concentrations of all analyzed trace metals are lower than the limits established by the present Romanian legislation. The mathematical model results showed that the primary inputs of Cr, Co and Ni were due to pedogenic factors, while the inputs of Pb and Cd were due to anthropogenic sources.