Heavy metal content in soil and consumption yield in the vicinity of petrochemical plant

Abstract

Heavy metal content in soil and consumption yield in the vicinity of petrochemical plant The research on soil and consumption yield quality at the impact zone of the petrochemical plant in Płock (ZRiP), conducted in the 1970s and 80s, proved that the emissions from the plant threatened the agricultural production within the area. As the emission levels from the ZRiP have significantly dropped in recent years, analyses were conducted in order to assess the current content of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soils as well as in wheat grain and potato tuber cultivated within the area. The results showed that the soils were not contaminated with above mentioned heavy metals, but the level of cadmium was exceeded in potato tubers collected from three research points and in wheat grain collected from one point.