Abstract: 【Objective】 To assess the human health risk posed by elevated concentrations of lead in vegetables and to identify lead pollution-tolerant vegetable varieties. The results could be used to guide vegetable safety evaluation and vegetable optimize planting patterns. 【Method】A large scale survey of lead levels in soils and vegetables planted or sold in Beijing was conducted with giving priority to the consumption weight of vegetables and taking account of varieties. Lead health risk was accessed with lead intake from vegetable consumption, and lead pollution-tolerant vegetable varieties were identified with bioconcentration factors (BCFs). 【Result】Lead concentrations in soils ranged from 13.2 to 78.8 mg·kg-1, with arithmetic, median and geometric means of 30.3 and 28.7 mg·kg-1, respectively. Lead concentrations in the edible plant portions ranged from 0.1 to 654.5 μg·kg-1FW, with arithmetic, median and Box-Cox means of 80.9, 51.3 and 48.7 μg·kg-1FW, respectively. In 9.2% of the samples, lead was higher than the Tolerance Limit of Lead in Foods (TLCF) of 0.8 mg·kg-1 fresh weight for pulse and 0.2 mg·kg-1 for other vegetables. The lead concentration in vegetables from Beijing was significantly higher than that of vegetables imported from other places in China, and the lead in the field-grown vegetables was significantly higher than that of vegetables planted in a greenhouse. Results of hierarchical cluster analysis on the BCF of lead in vegetables indicated that the plants sampled could be separated into three groups based on BCF. Round beans trellis (Vigna unguiculata), radish (Raphanus), chili (Capsicum annuum) and bakchoi (Brassica chinensis), which constituted the first group, had the highest BCFs. The second group, which includes cucumber (Cucumis sativus), wax gourd (Beninacasa hispida), Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis), eggplant (Solanum sp.), Chinese green onion, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea), had higher lead BCFs while leaf beet (Beta vulgaris) and some special varieties vegetables had lower lead BCFs. For adult and children in Beijing, the average ingestion rates of lead from vegetables were 16.6 and 13.6 μg·d-1, respectively. 【Conclusion】 Compared with the background lead concentrations of soil from Beijing, there appeared to be a significant accumulation of lead in soil collected from vegetables plot. Consuming vegetables with elevated lead concentrations may pose a health risk to local residents, particularly the children or ill.

Key words: Beijing, Bioaccumulation, Heavy metal, Human health risk, Lead, Pollutant-resistant plants, Vegetable, Soil