Abstract:

Cd concentration in agricultural soils,street dust and vegetable samples arounding the heavy industrial area of  Wugang Steel Group in Wuhan city,China,were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometor(AAS).It is showed that Cd concentration of most soil samples in the studied area were higher than the Chinese limit level,and were about 5 times higher than Cd concentration of diluvial soils from the Yangtze River,which was the parent materials of the soils.Cd concentration in soil samples collected from leeward of the industrial area was up to 284 mg/kg,which is significantly higher than that of the other parts.Cd concentration in street dust was up to 764 mg/kg,much higher than that of many developed cities in the world,such as Hong Kong,New York and London.The chemical partition results showed that Cd in topsoil and street dust presents were mobile (60%~80% of the Cd were bound in acetic acid extractable phase,reducible phase and oxidizable phase),suggesting a high ecological hazard potential.Different kinds of vegetables were contaminated with Cd in different extent:cabbage>eggplant>cowpea.Although Cd concentration in most vegetable samples did not surpassed the Chinese tolerance limit level for food,the positive relationship between the acetic acid extractable phase of Cd in soils and in esculent part of cabbages suggests the potential risk to local residents.