Determination of Heavy Metal Pollution in Some Honey Samples from Yozgat Province, Turkey

The concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Fe, Ni and Zn) in 21 different honey samples collected from 21 different farms in Yozgat, Turkey, were determined by ICP-OES after microwave digestion. It is observed that metal concentrations in honey samples ranged between 0.06 and 0.139 mu g g(-1) for Cd 0.03 and 1.20 mu g g(-1), for Zn 0.035 and 1.690 mu g g(-1), for Pb 0.006 and 2.332 mu g g(-1) for Ni and 0.703 and 8.150 pug g(-1) for Fe. Although, the honey samples were in good quality, they were not free of heavy metals. It is interesting that the stations in which the metal concentration is maximum within the examined honey samples are near the settlement regions where the traffic and industry is especially intensive. According to these results; it is concluded that the heavy metal concentrations in honey samples excluding some stations which are close to the settlement regions are in acceptable borders.