Affiliations: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering,
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 500-712,
Korea | Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China | College of Natural Resources and Environment, Hebei
Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Abstract: This research includes two investigations. The first one is a market
basket survey of the levels of arsenic (As) and trace elements in bracken fern
(Pteridium aquilinum) originated from three countries: South Korea, China and
North Korea. The results showed that the mean As concentrations in stems of
samples were significantly higher than those in leaves. As concentrations in
all samples did not exceed food safety limits for vegetables. Generally,
concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn in leaves were higher than those in stems.
The second investigation is a survey on the levels of As and other heavy metals
in vegetation in the vicinity of Myoungbong mine tailings. The results
demonstrated that As, Pb and Cu concentrations and bioaccumulation factors
(BCF) in seedlings of the fern (Asplenium achilleifolium) were the highest,
whereas Marsh horsetail (Equisetum palustre) accumulated the highest levels of
Zn. Concentrations of As, Pb, Zn and Cu in vegetable-cress (Lepidium sativum)
and the edible herb-aromatic madder (Elasholtzia splendens) were higher than
food safety limits. Therefore, a risk assessment of As and other heavy metals
in vegetables and herbs on local human health should be conducted in the
future.
Keywords: arsenic, heavy metals, ferns, bioaccumulation factors
