Journal
CHEMOSPHERE
Volume 293, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133508
Keywords
Heavy metals; Molybdenum; Volcanic ash; Rare earth elements; Magmatic material
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The recent volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma has raised concerns about the quality of bananas produced in the area, as elevated levels of various elements were found in sampled bananas. However, washing can help remove some of the contamination. Exposure to toxic or potentially toxic elements in bananas does not pose a significant health risk, even in the worst-case scenario.
The recent volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma has aroused the concern of banana producers and consumers, given that in its area of influence there are thousands of hectares of banana plantations with an annual production of about 100 million kilos for export. Since volcanoes are one of the main natural sources of heavy metal contamination, we sampled bananas from the affected area and determined the concentrations of 50 elements (Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Ga, Gd, Hg, Ho, In, La, Lu, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Os, Pb, Pd, Pm, Pr, Pt, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sn, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, U, Y, Yb and Zn). The levels of 36 elements were elevated but the washing implemented after the eruption can remove a good part. After the washout, bananas have elevated levels of Fe, Al, Ti, V, Ba, Pb, most of the rare earth elements, Mo, and Co. In all cases, except Mo, the elevation is much higher in the peel than in the flesh. In the case of Mo, the elevation in banana flesh would translate into a higher nutritional intake of this trace element, which could represent up to 35% of the daily nutritional requirements. Exposure to toxic or potentially toxic elements, does not represent a health risk, since would not exceed 5% of the tolerable daily intake, even in the worst-case scenario.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available