Background and purpose: Today, environmental pollutions are of the most important issues and hazardous in food safety around the world. Given the importance of salt and water in dietary, and extracting them from Maharloo Lake, Iran, this study aimed to investigate the concentrations of heavy metals, as environmental pollutions, in salt and water of this lake at different seasons. Materials and methods: In order to monitor heavy metals, including chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), water and salt samplings were done in each season from August 2009 to May 2010. Using atomic absorption, the concentration of the mentioned metals was determined after digesting the samples. Results: The order of concentration of detected metals in different seasons in salt was Cr > As > Cd > Pb > Hg, and in water was Cr > As > Hg > Cd > Pb. In salt, the highest concentrations of Cr, Cd, Pb, and As were detected in spring and of Hg was seen in summer. Also in water, the highest concentrations of As and Cd were detected in spring, of Cr and Hg in summer, and of Pb in autumn. Conclusion: In summary, it could be concluded that the changes in the concentration of metals during different seasons was caused by the changes in the inlet water and human activities, especially agricultures. In addition, compared to Iranian standard, determined concentrations of Pb and Hg in salt samples were lower.

Keywords: Maharlo Lake, Iran, heavy metal, salt, water, pollution

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