Assessment of Heavy Metals Concentrations in Roadside Canola Fields in Mazandaran Province, Iran

Contamination of agricultural products with heavy metals in soil and air is considered as serious threat to the quality and safety of these products. Cars and vehicles are among the major sources of heavy metals such as lead, iron and copper in the environment surrounding roads and highways. According to carcinogenic and destructive effects of these elements on human health, the aim of this study is to measure the concentrations of lead, iron and copper resulting from the traffic of vehicles available in the soil and canola plants growing in the central regions of MAZANDARAN province in Iran. In this research, sampling was conducted randomly and the values of mentioned elements were measured using flame atomic absorption device according to standard methods. The results showed that the levels of lead, iron and copper elements were higher in canola plant samples, including root, aerial parts and seeds, compared with the respective cultivated soils. The results indicated that the contamination of canola plant with mentioned pollutants has been mostly through aerial parts compared to the soil.