Classification of edible vegetables affected by different traffic intensities using potential curves

Heavy metals in soils have largely been used to evaluate the impact of moto rised traffic in the vicinity of motorways. Also in this field of work it i s of paramount importance to analyse the vegetables grown in these areas si nce their consumption is one of the main sources of metal intake by people; not in vain human food is directly or indirectly derived from plants. Acco rdingly, a set of edible vegetable samples were first analysed and, then, c lassified employing different multivariate chemometric techniques; among th em, SIMCA and a simplified mode of potential curves. The analytical variabl es were selected after a comprehensive study of roadside soil pollution whe re Pb, Cd and Cu were found to be the main metallic pollution tracers. Diff erent groups of vegetables were obtained which were explained as a function of both the agricultural conditions (private versus commercial) and the di fferent traffic intensities supported by the cultivated areas. (C) 1999 Els evier Science B.V. All rights reserved.