Lead and cadmium transition in soil – plant – honey system

Abstract

The quality of honey selected from apiaries located in the Vinnytsia region of the central part of Ukraine was assessed by the concentration of lead and cadmium. The study was conducted in different ecological zones. To determine the parameters of the transition of cadmium and lead into honey, samples of soil, plant generative organs and honey were taken. It was found that the content of heavy metals in honey depended on the floristic composition and flowering period of honey plants from which bees collected nectar, the location of honeybees and the concentration of heavy metals in the soil. The content of lead and cadmium was much lower than the maximum permissible concentrations. In spring honey plants, there is less accumulation of lead than in summer plants. The level of lead transfer from soil to honey plants was 2.2-2.6%, and from plants to honey – 3.7-7.4%. The transition of cadmium from soil to plants – 60-84.6%, and from plants to honey – from 2.6 to 8.8% is revealed. The content of lead and cadmium in honey reduced to a straight line distance from the source of increased environmental load. The level of concentration of lead and cadmium in the studied samples of honey does not exceed the permissible safety standards.