Overview
Younis and Darwesh bought twelve samples of each of seven vegetables at Erbil’s largest vegetable market, four of them both locally grown and imported, and measured ten elements by ICP-OES after drying. They report one value per vegetable group and compute daily intake, hazard quotients and cancer risk. The printed title differs slightly from the manifest title.
Key numbers
- Lead (Table 1, mg/kg): pepper 24.43 local and 53.50 imported, eggplant 37.55 and 62.47, tomato 46.10 and 40.70, zucchini 39.80 and 53.00, radish 59.80, cress 53.27, parsley 58.51.
- Cadmium (Table 1, mg/kg): from 5.88 in local pepper to 13.20 in imported pepper.
- Arsenic (Table 1, mg/kg): 0.21 to 0.90, not detected in imported zucchini.
Methods (brief)
Edible parts were washed, air-dried, oven-dried at 70 °C and powdered. Half a gram was digested in hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid and read on a Shimadzu ICPE-9820. No reference material, recovery, blank or detection limit is reported.
Evidence Fitness
Twelve samples per group, but the statistic behind each value is not stated and no dispersion or quality control is given. Lead (24 to 62 mg/kg), cadmium (6 to 13 mg/kg) and silver (up to 149 mg/kg) are far above typical vegetable values, so the analytical quality is uncertain. Values appear to be dry weight. Pepper, eggplant, tomato, zucchini, cress and parsley bear directly on non-root vegetables.