2019
Volume 19, Number 1/2, pp. 6-10
Ecomonitoring of agricultural products in villages adjacent to industrial areas
Guranda Avkopashvili,1 Marika Avkopashvili2 and Ramaz Gakhokidze2
1 Applied Research Centre, Andronikashvili Institute of Physics, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia
2 Faculty of Exact & Natural Sciences, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia
The Madneuli gold- and copper-producing factory has operated since 1975. It is located in the Bolnisi district, in the borough of Kazreti, approximately 80 km southeast of Tbilisi, on the banks of the Mashavera and Kazretula rivers. Locally there is an abundance of copper ore, rich in sulfide and mined from an open quarry pit. This source contaminates the environment with heavy metals. Hence, it is important to study the quality of the region's food products via ecomonitoring of the hydrosphere and rhizosphere. The villages of Balichi, Ratevani, Nakhiduri and Khidiskhuri were selected for our research. Balichi is the nearest village to the mine; in Ratevani, Nakhiduri and Khidiskhuri the River Mashavera is used for irrigation. The heavy metals copper, zinc and cadmium have been monitored in agricultural food products (dried beans, green beans, old and new potatoes, green nuts, dried nuts, green peppers, mushrooms, garlic, cucumber, cherry, green and red tomatoes, corn, cow's milk and cheese) during May, June, July and October using chemical analytical methods.
Keywords: cheese, cow's milk, Georgia, heavy metals, potatoes