Determinación de cadmio y plomo por espectroscopía de absorción atómica con horno de grafito en pastos del cantón Quero afectados por las cenizas del volcán Tungurahua

Abstract

The different periods of activation of the eruptive process of Tungurahua volcano have affected several localities of the province, not only in the agricultural production of the small producers, but also to the health of the inhabitants of the zone. In this sense, the present research project aimed at the study of the presence of toxic elements (cadmium and lead), products of volcanic ash, which produce environmental contamination and adverse effects in the human being. This study was carried out in the Guanto and Hualcanga sectors of Santa Anita in the Quero canton, and the determination was made in three different pastures (vice, alfalfa and bluegrass) that are traditionally grown in the Sectors. The analysis of metals in the grasses indicates that there is presence of lead and cadmium, however, most of the values obtained are within the limits defined by the norm of the European Union (2017) that stablishes values of 0.20 mg of lead / kg and 0.10 mg of cadmium/ kg fresh weight in vegetables. Statistical analysis was performed by means of the study of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate the different treatments, and to observe if they differ significantly each other in terms of their means, the Tukey test was applied, with a level of confidence of 95% and a level of significance of 5%. The statistical program used was Statgraphics, which allowed us to determine if there is significant difference between the sectors of Guanto and Hualcanga of Santa Anita, forages and applied treatment (washing and not washing), while measurements made in quintuplicate for both metals (cadmium and lead) do not differ from each other.