3 research outputs found
Are uranium-contaminated soil and irrigation water a risk for human vegetable consumers? A study case with Solanum tuberosum L., Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Lactuca sativa L.
The knowledge of uranium concentration, in the
products entering the human diet is of extreme importance
because of their chemical hazard to health. Controlled field
experiments with potatoes, beans and lettuce (Solanum
tuberosum L., Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Lactuca sativa L.)
were carried out in a contaminated soil used by local
farmers located near a closed Portuguese uranium mine
(Cunha Baixa, Mangualde). The soil with high average
uranium levels (64–252 mg/kg) was divided in two plots,
and irrigated with non-contaminated and uranium-contaminated
water (\20 and [900 lg/L). Uranium maximum
average concentration in the edible vegetables parts (mg/kg
fresh weight) ranged in the following order: lettuce
(234 lg/kg)[green bean (30 lg/kg)[potatoes without
peel (4 lg/kg). Although uranium in soil, irrigation water
and vegetables was high, the assessment of the health risk
based on hazard quotient indicates that consumption of
these vegetables does not represent potential adverse (no
carcinogenic) effects for a local inhabitant during lifetime