Heavy metal concentration in plants growing on the vicinity of railroad tracks: a pilot study

Railway transport is a source of various heavy metals arising from abraded metallic train elements and rails. These metals accumulate in neighboring soils and may pose particular health risk for railway workers or people who simply pass through the railroad tracks. Plants are able to uptake metals from soil, thus reduce soil contamination and movement of pollutants. Individual species are characterized by different accumulation efficiency. In this study fifteen species were examined for accumulation of 14 metals. Cerastium dubium accumulated the majority of metals most efficiently.