Determination of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, and lead in 'Smooth cayenne' pineapple fruit, leaves tissue and soil using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES)

The island of Vieques is currently surrounded by controversy since it was used for military purposes for an extended period of time.; Inductively coupled plasma with optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was employed to determine the total concentration of Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt and Lead in Smooth cayenne fruits, leave tissues and soil samples from a pineapple plantation. Smooth cayenne is a pineapple variety that currently is been cultivated in Vieques as an experimental crop. This plantation is located in "El Sector Lujan", inside the civilian zone and far from the firing range zone. Another plantation of the same variety in Barceloneta was selected as control in order to compare results of the metals mentioned above that could have resulted as a consequence of the Navy's military activities. A microwave assisted acid digestion procedure was employed for sample preparation prior to the analysis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...