Vegetable crops for biomonitoring lead and cadmium deposition

Leafy vegetables are of particular interest for the active biomonitoring of the heavy metal deposition in the environment. The leaves accumulate the deposited airborne trace elements, however, they are also influenced by soilborne metals. The level of root uptake and accumulation depends on the element concerned and specific plant characteristics that influence the sensitivity of the biomonitoring system to a large extend. Standardization of the soil substrate and a precise estimation of the root uptake are very important in order to improve the sensitivity of biomonitoring. Spinach (Spinacea oleracea), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), endive (Cichorium endivia) and lamb's lettuce (Valerianella locusta), grown in containers filled with a common peat soil and supplied with a semi-automatic watering system, were successfully used as bioaccumulators for the Cd and Pb deposition in gardens of an industrial and a residential area. Comparisons were made between the Cd and Pb contents in the crops and the deposition flux measured with NILU particulate fallout collectors in order to determine the accumulation efficiency of each crop. The correlations found were very useful to estimate the tolerable dust deposition levels with reference to the EU Guideline for maximum levels of contaminants in leafy vegetables. Exposure of the crops in open-top chambers, which were supplied with filtered air, (provided with a roof), proved that the Pb dust deposition significantly increases the "normal" concentration in the vegetables from the reference area, whereas the cadmium deposition was too low to be measured biologically. Comparisons of exposure of the crops to ambient air with or without chamber enclosure, and in open-top chambers with filtered air allowed to determine the "normal" metal concentrations and to estimate the "biological detection limits".