Variation of heavy metal concentrations in some cultivar plants in the ordu city center

In today's world, agricultural and urban areas are ever closer to each other to the point of intertwining. With the hike in heavy metal pollution caused by the increase in industrial activities and traffic density, heavy metals bioaccumulate in the plants. These HMs are toxic even at low concentrations to animals and plants alike. Naturally, the consumption of plants contaminated with heavy metals as food poses a great risk to an organism's health. Time analysis and identification of constrains The aim of this study is to determine some heavy metal concentrations in agricultural plants grown in the city center and villages of tomato, pepper, bean and corn plants. Within the scope of the study, washing process was applied on the leaves and fruits of these plants, and the changes of Pb, Fe, Cr, Cd, Mg, Al and Ca elements depending on the species, organ, growing place and washing status were evaluated. In general, the lowest values were obtained in tomato and corn and the highest values were observed in pepper. Additionally, it was determined that the concentrations in the leaves were generally higher than that of the fruits, and that the concentrations in the unwashed samples were higher than that of the washed samples. It has been determined that most of the heavy metals and especially Pb, which is one of the most toxic heavy metals, have a very high concentration in plants grown in the city center. The results of the study show that the consumption of plants grown in regions with high heavy metal pollution, such as areas with high traffic, can cause significant health problems Key Words: Ordu, agricultural plants, heavy metal