Lead contamination of soil and vegetables grown near motorways in Hong Kong

Ming Hung WONG, F.Y. TAM

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

1. Higher content of lead in the soil was found near motorways and the content drops according to the distance from the motorways. 2. Higher contents of lead in the tissue of two vegetables were also obtained. In general, leaf and root contained more lead than stem. 3. The contents of lead in different organs were positive correlated to the lead content in soils. 4, Brassica parachinensis contained more lead than B. alboglabra which may be due to species specific in the uptake of lead from soil. 5. Washing with distilled water and detergent reduced over 50% of lead of the crops and washing with distilled water alone also reduced the content of lead to a lesser extent (18%). 6. The growing of root crops near motorways should be avoided because of the higher uptake of lead in roots. 7. Due to the development of new towns and the expansion of satellite cities under the present decentralization scheme, more roads will be used by motorcars in the near future and the fact of higher lead contents both in edible crops and soil should not be overlooked. Copyright © 1978 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-22
JournalJournal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A: Environmental Science and Engineering
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1978

Citation

Wong, M. H., & Tam, F. Y. (1978). Lead contamination of soil and vegetables grown near motorways in Hong Kong. Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A: Environmental Science and Engineering, 13(1), 13-22. doi: 10.1080/10934527809374787

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