Evidence for a decline in rural herbage lead levels in the U.K.

Samples of herbage collected from field plots at Rothamsted Experimental Station in southeast England between 1956 and 1988 have been analyzed for Pb. Changes in atmospheric deposition of Pb, identified as a major source of foliar Pb, resulted in temporal trends in the Pb concentrations of the herbage. Annual herbage Pb concentrations at Rothamsted correlated with the trend in annual U.K. air Pb over the years for which air data were available (1972–1988). This study provides evidence for a gradual reduction in herbage Pb concentrations during the study period, and of a recent, sharper decline following the reduction of petrol Pb at the beginning of 1986.

RES-11282