باقيمانده سرب در عضله، كبد و كليه گوسفندان كشتار شده در كشتارگاه فلاورجان اصفهان

Lead residue in muscle, liver and kidney of sheep slaughtered at Falavarjan abattoir, Isfahan

Environmental pollution by heavy metals is a potential problem, recognized in most countries of the world. Heavy metals accumulate in all organs, particularly the liver and kidneys. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the concentration of Lead in muscle, liver and kidney specimens of 57 sheep slaughtered at Falavarjan abattoir, Isfahan. The lead concentration of the specimens was determined by graphite furnaces atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after wet digestion of the samples. The mean value of lead concentration in the muscle, liver and kidney samples were 0.012±0.007, 0.189±0.077 and 0.338±0.122 mg/kg of fresh weight respectively. According to the results of this study the mean concentration of lead in all tissue samples was lower than acceptable maximum threshold determined by the European community. Lead concentration in 1.8% of liver samples and 8.8% of kidney samples were determined to be higher than the acceptable threshold established by the European community (0.01 mg/kg for muscle, 0.5 mg/kg for muscle, liver and kidneys respectively). Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in lead concentration of liver and kidney samples between various age groups of animals (p<0.05).