The island of Chios (east Mediterranean), citrus plantations and the mercury nightmare

Various aspects related to mercury poisoning in the Island of Chios discussed. Two farms with citrus trees were picked and the quality of the irrigation water was monitored. Fruits were collected always from the same tagged branches. Fruit pieces, from both ectocarp and mesocarp, were dried, grinded...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology 2007-08, Vol.79 (2), p.192-196
Main Authors: Christodoulakis, N S, Roulia, M, Psatha, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Citrus
Citrus - drug effects
Citrus - metabolism
Citrus - ultrastructure
Electron Probe Microanalysis
Environmental Monitoring
Greece
Mediterranean Sea
Mercury
Mercury Compounds - analysis
Mercury Compounds - pharmacokinetics
Mercury Poisoning
Soil Pollutants - analysis
Soil Pollutants - pharmacokinetics
Water Supply - analysis
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Summary:Various aspects related to mercury poisoning in the Island of Chios discussed. Two farms with citrus trees were picked and the quality of the irrigation water was monitored. Fruits were collected always from the same tagged branches. Fruit pieces, from both ectocarp and mesocarp, were dried, grinded, and analyzed for heavy metals and other elements by means of a spectrophotometer. Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis (EDX) was performed on the fruit tissue. The results indicated that mercury was literally absent. It was concluded that consumption of heavy metals by humans could be considered safe, as the dangerous heavy metal seemed to stand clear from the production.
ISSN:0007-4861
1432-0800
DOI:10.1007/s00128-007-9160-4