Arsenic in Vegetable Crops of a Horticultural Center of the Southeast Pampean Plain

CHIODI BOUDET, L.; POLIZZI, P.; ROMERO, M.B.; DOLAGARATZ CARRICAVUR, A.; FERNANDEZ, E.; GERPE, M.

Montevideo

Congreso; SETAC Latin America 15th Biennial Meeting; 2023

Intensive crops involve the application of fertilizers providing the nutrients for their growth. The prolongeduse of these agrochemicals, mainly phosphates, is strongly linked to the accumulation of metals and arsenic(As) in soils. Previous results demonstrated the presence of As in phosphate fertilizers (≈ 25 mg/kg) used inone of the most important of Buenos Aires province horticultural centers, located in nearly Mar del Platacity. Therefore, we hypothesize that the prolonged use of them could be contributing As to the soils, whichcan be assimilated by the crops. In this way, vegetable samples (edible parts) from conventional crops (withapplication of fertilizers) and agroecological crops (without chemical fertilization) were taken. Samples oftomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), bell pepper(Capsicum annuum), beetroot (Beta vulgaris), brucella cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera),broccoli (Brassica oleracea), corn (Zea mays) and potato (Solanum tuberosum) were dried at 60°C andstored in the freezer. The quantification of total As was carried out by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometrywith a hydride generation. Data were expressed in mg/kg dry weight. The limit of detection was 0.005mg/kg. The As concentrations in the analyzed samples ranged from < 0.005 to 0.181 mg/kg. The highestlevels were observed in fertilized beetroot leaves (0.181) and lettuce (0.148) while the lowest were in potato(0.006) and corn ( 0.005- 0.011, while those fertilized varied between 0.020 - 0.148. In turn, the agroecological vegetablespresented lower concentrations compared to the fertilized ones. These results revealed that fertilizationpractices influence As content in vegetables analyzed in the study area. Arsenic concentrations in allstudied vegetables did not exceed the maximum limit allowed by the Argentine Food Code (1 mg/kg, freshweight); thus, the vegetables grown in the study area are currently safe for consumption. However, theaccumulation of As in crops must be monitored periodically until fertilization practices not be modified.