Chemometric assessment of agricultural samples from the vicinity of a lead-zinc smelter

摘要

In the present article the pervasion of toxic elements(As,Cd,Pb,Zn)in edible and forage parts of plants grown in the fields near a Pb-Zn smelter was studied in order to propose efficient measures to minimize adverse effects on human health and ecosystems in the region.Statistical treatment of results based on hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA)and non-hierarchical clustering algorithm(K-means)showed that soil and air contamination by toxic chemical elements is the major environmental problem especially near to a Zn-Pb smelter(Plovdiv,Bulgaria).Subject of the present paper are the amounts of 4 toxic elements in different parts(21)of plants collected in the above-mentioned area,which were introduced in the formed matrix for data classification and interpretation.The result of the chemometric examination accentuates on Cd pollution,especially the inadmissible Cd content in carrots planted on the fields about 5-7 km from the factory.