English Abstract In the frame of a revision of the Dutch Guideline for
Soil Protection a review of the literature concerning trace element contents
of vegetables grown on polluted soil is presented. The elements considered
were arsenic, barium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, mercury, lead, molybdenum,
nickel, tin, and zinc. The content of each of these elements in a vegetable
may vary widely. Furthermore, different vegetable species may differ in
trace element uptake. Even if we consider the accumulation of only one
element in one kind of vegetable, it is difficult to predict plant contents
from soil contents, because of the great number of factors that influence
accumulation. These factors may be distinguished into soil and plant bound
factors. The factors that appear to be important from the literature are
summarized. Furthermore, all available data with respect to trace elements
contents of vegetables grown on polluted soils (preferably under field
conditions), are brought together in this report. Finally, biological
concentration factors (BCFs) for the transfer of trace elements from soil to
vegetables were proposed. Here a distinction was made between BCFs for
potatoes, that make up a large part of our diet, and other vegetables. The
content of a number of elements in vegetables appeared to be limited due to
phytotoxicity.
