Lead levels in roadside soils and vegetation of Damascus city

This study concentrates on seasonal variations of lead levels in roadside soils, vegetables and plants of Damascus city. Lead concentrations in soil samples varied from 78.4 ppm to 832 ppm while mean lead levels in plants ranged from 2.6 ppm to 19.3 ppm; the highest levels were found to be in grass (44 ppm). In addition, lead levels were lower in soil samples during the wet period (December to April) whereas, it is higher in plants during the same period. Moreover, traffic density, distance from traffic roads, climate and area topography (up- and down hill) were influencing factors in lead levels in both the soil and plant samples. The results have also shown that lead concentration in most of the analyzed vegetable samples was high and normal washing does not decrease it to an acceptable level. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.