| Heavy metals are one of the environmental pollutants that human
exposure to them can cause chronic diseases. Inmost people, food is
one of the most important sources of heavy metals. Therefore, the
evaluation of heavy metals residues in various food samples and food
additives like salt is of great importance. In this study, 30 salt samples
were collected from 30 different locations of Lake Urmia and analysed
with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy
to assess the contamination of heavy metals in them. In this method,
the analytes were extracted with two chelating agents. The maximum
concentrations of Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, As, and Pb in the evaluated salt
samples were 40, 541, 261, 464, 38, and 254 ng g–1, respectively.
Comparison of the obtained results with the Codex maximum residue
limits of heavy metals in the edible salt indicated that only in two
cases of the studied salt samples the concentrations of metals
exceeded the recommended levels (in one sample the concentration
of Cr and in another sample, the concentration of Hg). Considering
the outcomes of this study and the adverse effects of heavy metals
residues on human health, continuous monitoring of their levels in
the salt samples of Lake Urmia is highly recommended. |