Toxic and Trace Metal Contamination of Soil, Wastewater and Vegetables

One of the main environmental pollutants is heavy metals. Due to extensive usage in industry, these metals enter biological cycle rapidly and contaminated water and soil resources rapidly. The contamination of vegetable crops with heavy metals is a health concern. Therefore, monitoring levels of heavy metals in vegetables can provide useful information for promoting food safety. The concentration of beneficial as well as toxic metals in industry effluents, soils and selected vegetables from irrigation farms in Ethiopia is less, in which pesticide, fertilizer; municipal and industrial sewage effluents are discharged in to irrigation farms around Eastern industry zone. Cabbage, lettuce, and spinach are selected and most commonly-consumed edible vegetables which are cultivated by using wastewater, due to lack of irrigation water in the study area. Therefore, I would be interested to know the extent of heavy metals in the specific area.