Gergen and Harmanescu analyze metal contamination patterns across two historic Romanian mining areas and a reference area. Their PCA study reproduces vegetable concentrations and male hazard quotients from the earlier Harmanescu 2011 study; these remain linked secondary observations rather than additional independent samples.
Key numbers
Table 3 fresh-matter means, mg/kg; R=Ruschita, M=Moldova Noua, Ref=Borlova:
| Vegetable/area | Code | Fe | Mn | Zn | Cu | Ni | Cd | Pb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root parsley R | R1 | 221.80 | 37.83 | 45.82 | 6.88 | 1.28 | 0.20 | 15.78 |
| Root parsley M | M1 | 99.02 | 8.10 | 7.74 | 6.66 | 0.49 | 0.04 | 0.66 |
| Root parsley Ref | Ref1 | 48.78 | 3.27 | 3.52 | 1.22 | 0.19 | 0.01 | 0.08 |
| Root carrot R | R2 | 29.97 | 3.06 | 4.93 | 1.77 | 0.18 | 0.08 | 2.11 |
| Root carrot M | M2 | 31.89 | 2.22 | 3.18 | 1.54 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.09 |
| Root carrot Ref | Ref2 | 17.31 | 1.43 | 2.05 | 0.74 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.06 |
| Onion R | R3 | 15.26 | 4.07 | 10.91 | 1.37 | 0.21 | 0.06 | 0.50 |
| Onion M | M3 | 1.56 | 0.32 | 0.78 | 0.25 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| Onion Ref | Ref3 | 4.65 | 1.34 | 2.01 | 0.43 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.04 |
| Leaf parsley R | R4 | 73.17 | 5.88 | 9.39 | 1.77 | 0.30 | 0.09 | 1.97 |
| Leaf parsley M | M4 | 106.75 | 9.72 | 10.44 | 4.79 | 1.87 | 0.05 | 0.50 |
| Leaf parsley Ref | Ref4 | 104.03 | 7.32 | 9.13 | 1.03 | 0.38 | 0.03 | 0.28 |
| Leaf carrot R | R5 | 14.25 | 1.38 | 1.36 | 0.29 | 0.11 | 0.01 | 0.20 |
| Leaf carrot M | M5 | 51.45 | 5.57 | 5.61 | 2.12 | 0.38 | 0.04 | 0.12 |
| Leaf carrot Ref | Ref5 | 31.59 | 3.13 | 3.77 | 0.40 | 0.17 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| Cabbage R | R6 | 60.11 | 10.47 | 16.30 | 1.36 | 0.70 | 0.12 | 0.90 |
| Cabbage M | M6 | 31.53 | 9.15 | 8.51 | 2.77 | 0.33 | 0.06 | 0.25 |
| Cabbage Ref | Ref6 | 16.06 | 3.85 | 3.28 | 0.45 | 0.13 | 0.01 | 0.05 |
| Lettuce R | R7 | 35.88 | 8.33 | 14.46 | 1.86 | 0.28 | 0.09 | 0.62 |
| Lettuce M | M7 | 13.60 | 4.12 | 5.14 | 2.22 | 0.18 | 0.09 | 0.21 |
| Lettuce Ref | Ref7 | 16.90 | 3.46 | 5.32 | 0.76 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.08 |
| Cucumber R | R8 | 2.39 | 6.73 | 8.96 | 0.98 | 0.28 | 0.13 | 0.72 |
| Cucumber M | M8 | 2.38 | 6.01 | 1.39 | 2.42 | 0.54 | 0.15 | 0.37 |
| Cucumber Ref | Ref8 | 1.70 | 0.45 | 0.95 | 0.45 | 0.23 | 0.03 | 0.16 |
| Green Bean R | R9 | 58.85 | 7.06 | 13.22 | 1.05 | 0.49 | 0.06 | 0.35 |
| Green Bean M | M9 | 21.65 | 4.77 | 10.17 | 1.45 | 0.52 | 0.07 | 0.19 |
| Green Bean Ref | Ref9 | 26.19 | 6.45 | 9.68 | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.03 | 0.07 |
All 27 soil mean±SD rows (Table 1) and 27 male THQ rows (Table 4) are separately preserved in structured evidence. A four-metal soil PCA explains 98.6% of variance; the plant model including soil properties explains 84.4%.
Methods (brief)
Subsistence farms in Ruschita and Moldova Noua mining areas and Borlova reference. Nine soil composites per area, each 10 grabs, 0–20 cm. Soil aqua-regia extraction; plant ash at 550°C 8 h dissolved in 0.5 N nitric acid. FAAS, certified reference materials; recoveries 92–105%, variation coefficients<10%. PCA on logged values using PAST. Detailed sampling and vegetable data refer to prior study 61; the preserved paper does not give collection dates.
Implications
Supports legacy mining and tissue/region differences. Parsley root and leaf remain distinct, as do carrot root and leaf. The fresh-matter food table is retained with cohort linkage so that a reanalysis cannot inflate the evidence pool. Source THQ rankings are model results, not clinical outcomes.
Evidence Fitness: EF-2 for qualified region/tissue summaries and soil measurements; EF-3 for secondary hazard models. Prior-cohort duplication, LOD context and missing dates must be resolved for pooling.
Related evidence
- Root and Tuber Vegetables
- Non-Root Vegetables
- Leafy / Green Vegetables, Other
- Parsley
- Carrot
- Onions
- Cabbage
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Green beans
- Soil-to-plant transfer of heavy metals
- Source attribution and environmental burden apportionment
- Iron
- Manganese
- Zinc
- Copper
- Nickel
- Cadmium
- Lead
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