Abstract: The contents of heavy metal (Pd, Cd, As, Hg), nitrate and nitrite in vegetables from the markets and plant fields were investigated in Xiamen. The vegetable samples supplied seasonally were collected during August 2004 and December 2005. 532 samples in 46 groups of vegetables were analyzed according to GB/T5009.11-17-1996 and GB/T 5009.33-2003 to evaluate the status of the contamination. The results showed that the average contents are 0.0099, 0.083, 0.056, 0.003, 1090.3, 0.59 mg/kg for Pb, Cd, As, Hg, NO3-, NO2-, respectively. According to national standards[1-2], the samples of standard exceeding lead contents were found only in some limited vegetables. The potential trend of lead pollution was little. The contents of arsenic, mercury and cadmium in the most samples were very low, the pollution hazards of these three heavy metals were not serious. The prevalence of severe nitrate contamination was 36.5% in samples analyzed, the prevalence of heavy and medium nitrate contamination was 20.2%, the prevalence of mild contamination was 43.3%. The content of nitrate in vegetables was ranked in the following descent order, tender stem and leaf vegetables>root and stem vegetables>inflorescent vegetables>melon vegetables>beans>eggplant and fruit vegetables>water plant vegetables. However the contents in diferent species differed greatly. The nitrite in vegetables was comparably low.

Key words: vegetables, heavy metal, nitrate, nitrite