[Values of nitrate and nitrite in selected vegetables and potatoes cultivated in the region of Pulaw]. / Zawartosc azotanów i azotynów w wybranych warzywach i ziemniakach uprawianych w rejonie Pulaw.

Nitrate and nitrite contents were determined in selected vegetables and potatoes from plantations of individuals farmers, situated either in the vicinity of the Nitrogen Plant in Pulawy or at a distance from this plant (control). Vegetables and potatoes both newly harvested and stored for 4 months in cellars were analysed. From farms selected by lot, samples of lettuce, cabbage, sauerkraut, beets, carrots and potatoes (all harvested in 1986 and 1987) were collected. Nitrate and nitrite contents were determined in 1215 plant samples. Nitrates were reduced on a cadmium column to nitrites, whereupon they were determined colorimetrically using sulphanilic acid and N-1-naphthylethylenediamine. This results showed that the nitrate contents are higher in the vegetables and potatoes cultivated in the region of the Nitrogen Plant, as compared with those from the Janowiec village distant from this plant (control). Differences in mean nitrate contents per 100 g dry matter were in years 1986 and 1987 for: lettuce 73%, 36%; cabbage 54%, 39%; beets 16%, 20%; carrots 51%, 29%; potatoes 77%, 36%, respectively. Moreover, the vegetables and potatoes grown in the region of the Nitrogen Plant, as compared with the control vegetables from the village located at a distance from this plant, displayed a greater percentage of samples with plants characterized by higher nitrate contents. The greater percentage of samples containing high nitrate levels, as well as the higher mean nitrate contents in vegetables and potatoes testify to the effect of the Nitrogen Plant on nitrate concentrations in the crops. In vegetables from both regions, the nitrite contents did not exceed 1 mg NaNO2/kg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Nitrate and nitrite levels in daily food rations of children from the rural Pulawy regions]. / Zawartosc azotanów i azotynów w calodziennych racjach pokarmowych dzieci wiejskich z rejonu Pulaw.

In the region of Pulawy where the operation of the Nitrogen-Compound Manufacturing Plant has lead to an increase in nitrogen compound emission to the environment, nitrate and nitrite contents in daily food rations of children were determined. Daily food rations of children aged 8-9 and 12-13 years were collected from individual farms in four villages situated in the vicinity of the Nitrogen Plant, as well as--for control--from individual farms in Janowiec, a village distant from this Plant. Nitrate and nitrite contents were assayed in 300 daily food rations taken in spring and autumn. Nitrate was reduced to nitrite on a cadmium column whereupon it was determined colorimetrically using sulphanilic acid and N-1-napthyl-ethylenediamine. It was found that in the group of younger children as many as 70%, on the average, of the examined food rations displayed nitrate contents exceeding the admissible levels. In the group of the 12-13 years old children, the percentage of daily food rations whose nitrate content exceeded the admissible level was lower, averaging ca. 30% of all rations examined. The percentage of the daily food rations in which the nitrite content was higher than admissible level was closely similar in both groups of children, averaging ca. 30% of all rations examined. Food rations collected in spring, as compared with those taken in autumn, contained significantly greater amount of nitrate. In both periods of studies, nitrate contents were greater in the food rations from the farms situated near the Nitrogen Plant than in the food rations from farms in Janowiec.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Cadmium content in daily food rations of rural school-age children]. / Zawartosc kadmu w calodziennych racjach pokarmowych dzieci wiejskich w wieku szkolnym.

Cadmium was determined in 230 daily food rations of children aged 8-9 years and 12-13 years. The study was carried out in spring and in autumn during three successive days. Daily meals were collected from the households selected in the area of five villages. Cadmium was determined by the extraction ASA method, after dry mineralization at about 450 degrees C. The level of cadmium in the examined food rations varied from 6 to 569 micrograms/person/day, with the mean value of 43.5 +/- 52.6 micrograms/person/day, and the median of 31.3 micrograms. In 93% of food rations the amount of cadmium was below the upper limit--the dose permitted by the WHO for adults i.e. 57-71 micrograms/day. Considering the children's smaller body weight the daily cadmium intake in food rations was converted into the daily cadmium intake per 1 kilogram body weight. In the group of children aged 8-9 years cadmium intake was 0.3-15 micrograms, with the mean value of 1.7 micrograms, and in the group of 12-13-years-old children it was 0.1-13.9 micrograms, with the mean of 1.3 micrograms. Only 36% of food rations in the group of younger children and 58% of food rations in the older group contained the amount of cadmium below the tolerable value of 1 microgram/kg body weight/day. The weekly cadmium intake was calculated for each child based on its amount in daily food rations during the successive three days. The mean value was 12.3 micrograms/kg body weight, with the median of 8.1 micrograms, within the range of values 2.1-58.8 micrograms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)