Heavy metal soil pollution is an important global environmental problem for many ecosystems. Romania is a country rich in mineral resources and has a long history in the field of mineral exploitation. Thus, the pollution with heavy metals of agricultural soils is a major environmental problem that can affect food quality and human health. Heavy metal contamination of vegetables is a problem that can lead to toxicity and disease in humans and animals due to their nutritional importance. The high level of soil contamination with heavy metals is dangerous because vegetables absorb and accumulate metallic elements in different tissues. In Romania, there are different sources of heavy metals contamination, especially from anthropogenic activities. The studyâs results from the last ten years show that both, the soil and the vegetables are affected by this type of pollution. Vegetables grown for consumption in Romania are sometimes contaminated with heavy metals, and this is associated with health problems that occur in the communities from those areas. This paper reviews the soil contents in heavy metals from three regions of Romania (CriĆana, Transylvania, and Moldova). Therefore, the consumption of vegetables in areas affected by heavy metal pollution should be limited, and it is also necessary to regularly monitor areas where heavy metal pollution problems are identified.
