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Gardens near the lead and zinc smelter plant "Zletovo" in the town of Veles, Republic of Macedonia, are the main suppliers with vegetables and fruits for the residents of this town. This area, was exposed thirty years to high environmental contamination with heavy metals (Cd, Pb and Zn). The smelter plant was a major source of heavy met-als pollution in the environment, including the garden soils used for the production of vegetables and fruits. The aim of this study is to determine the level of contamination (especially with Cd, Pb and Zn) in green garlic (Allium sa-tivum) and green onion (Allium scallion) produced on the contaminated soil and to determine its level of accumula-tion in the plants. The contents of 21 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, V and Zn) in the vegetables and corresponding soils were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emis-sion spectrometry (ICP-AES) after microwave digestion. It was found that the contents of Cd, Pb and Zn in the vege-tables from all of the four studied gardens is over the maximum permissible level according to the Macedonian regu-lations. The content of Cd in washed green garlic samples ranges from 0.60 to 2.70 mg kg-1, for Pb from 4.30 to 6.14 mg kg-1 and for Zn from 11.7 to 29.9 mg kg-1, while their contents in the washed green onion samples ranges from 0.77 to 2.66 mg kg-1 for Cd, from 3.98 to 5.35 mg kg-1 for Pb and from 21.2 to 38.0 mg kg-1 for Zn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of a first systematic study of spatial distribution of different elements in surface soil over the Veles region (50 km(2)) known for its lead and zinc industrial activity in the recent past are reported. A total of 201 soil samples were collected according to a dense net in urban area and less dense net in rural area. The total of 42 elements were analyzed by epithermal neutron activation analysis (ENAA) and by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The content of elements such as As, Au, Cd, Cu, Hg, In, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn in soil samples around the lead and zinc smelter and in the adjacent part of the town of Veles has appeared to be much higher than in those collected in the surrounding areas due to the pollution from the plant. Thus, the content of Cd (three times); Pb and Zn (two times) is even higher than the corresponding intervention (critical) values according to the Dutch standards. The results obtained by two complementary analytical techniques, AAS and ENAA, are discussed in terms of multivariate statistics. GIS technology was applied to depict the areas most affected by contamination from the lead and zinc smelter., ((c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)