Attached
F iv e ty p es o f g r ee n le a fy v eg eta b les
[“K ankun” (Ip o m o e a a q u a tic n ), “MukilmlvVetinfl'’
(A /te rn a n th era se ssilis), “T liam p ala” (A tn a ra n th iis
viridis), “Nivithi” (Basel/a alba), and "Koliila leaver"
(Lasia spinosa)] were randomly collected from si ; diffeien t.lo ca tio n s (W ellam pitiya, K o lon n aw a, Kt>tlnw«.
Piliyandala, Bandaragama, and Kahathuduwa) in and
around Colombo District, Sri Lanka, and subjected In analysis o f three heavy metals [nickel (Ni), cadmium
(Cd), and copper (Cu)] by atomic absorption speclromeliy.
Roils from green leafy vegetable cultivation lands and
litigated wafer were also tested. The average concentrations o f heavy melals Ni, Cd, and Cu in soils were 51.5
±45.5, 1.4±1.1, and 66 .5 ± 5 9 .5 m g kg-1, respectively.
I he highest Ni contamination was detected in the irrigated
water samples from Wellampitiya (2.02 m g L-1) followed
by K olon naw a (1 .0 2 m g L“ ') and K ahathuduwa
(0.25 m g L ') areas. This has exceeded (lie WHO/FAO
guideline (0.2 m g L-1).' However, Cd and Cu contents in
all tested irrigated water samples were w ell below the
detection limits. Significant differences were observed in
N i, Cd, and Cu levels, between both production sites and
green leafy vegetables analyzed (P < 0 .0 5 ). The mean
ciincenlralions^mg kg-1, dry weight basis) o f heavy metals
id all green leafy vegetable samples collected from six
areas varied as 0.23±0.15 for Cd, 12.60±9.01 for Cu,
and 7.62 ±8.41 for Ni. Maximum N i, Cd, and Cu contaminations were found in the green leafy vegetables collected
fitttn Kolonnawa area. Am ong the green leafy vegetables
analyzed, “Kohila leaves” have (lie highest tendency to
accumulate N i, Cd, and Cu from the environment.
