Investigation of Heavy Metal Levels of Beeswax in Bee Apiaries in Çankiri

Abstract

In this research, a total of 25 samples, 9 from the southern and 16 from the northern of Çankırı were taken. Heavy metal contents of these samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The mean values of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), vanadium (V), cadmium (Cd), selenium (Se) in the samples were 36.28 ppm, 1.69 ppm, 1.65 ppm, 1.14 ppm, 0.78 ppm, 0.68 ppm, 0.30 ppm, 0.13 ppm, 0.06 ppm, 0.01 ppm, respectively. Between the northern and southern regions, only Cd (1.10 ppm) was found to be high in the southern region, while the other heavy metals were found to be high in the northern region. In the study, there was no statistical difference between Fe, Pb, Zn, Al, Cr, V and Se averages in the wax samples taken from the northern and southern regions, while a statistically significant difference was found between Mn, Cu and Cd concentrations. As a result, the heavy metal concentration in beeswax, one of the bee products, varied depending on the region. Except Cd element, all values were higher in the northern region of Çankırı and this region close to the highway with heavy traffic should be evaluated in terms of beekeeping.