Does consumption of potatoes cultivated in soils contaminated by heavy metals pose any risk to human health? / Czy istnieje ryzyko związane ze spożyciem ziemniaków uprawianych w glebach zanieczyszczonych metalami ciężkimi?

Soil is one of the most important environmental backgrounds, as it provides water and nutrients for plant production. It is the starting point for the entry of heavy metals into plants and then into the food chain. Of risk elements studied (Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb), we found increased Cd and Pb content in the soil extract by aqua regia and NH₄NO₃, respectively. More than twofold content of Pb mobile forms (0.218 mg • kg^-1 ) resulted in enhanced Pb content in tubers of all three potato cultivars: cv. Volumia 0.404, cv. Cicero 0.580 and cv. Mozart 0.638 mg • kg^-1 FM. In all investigated cultivars, highly statistically significant differences in content of Pb between studied potato cultivars (P-value<0.01) were confirmed.