One of the most important and complex contemporary environmental problems is pollution of air, soil and water by xenobiotics. Both inorganic (e.g., heavy metals) and organic (e.g., pesticide residues) pollutants can affect ecosystem and human health. The worst catastrophe in civil use of nuclear energy was in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986. The radioactivity from this disaster continues to effect
... [Show full abstract] soils and vegetation in the Slovak Republic. The quality, efficacy, and health benefits of medicinal plants and small fruits, including black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) are directly affected by xenobiotics in their production environment. For foods, it is very important to determine the hazard values for domestic and foreign consumption, and to compare contaminant levels with regulations and standards; for example, those approved by the Slovak Ministry of Health Service. Environmental risks (contents of heavy metals, pesticide residues and radioactivity) in regard to production and collection of several medicinal plants and small fruits from the Slovak Republic were determined by analytical methods. Contents of heavy metals, pesticide residues, and radioactivity levels in all samples tested in this study were determined to be within legal and safe limits for the Slovak Republic and EU. INTRODUCTION The environment is the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism (Huttmanova and Chovancova, 2012). Xenobiotics have created important and complex environment problems since the Industrial Revolution. They have caused pollution of air, soil and water. Important examples of xenobiotics that affect food and medicinal plant production, quality, and safety include heavy metals, radioactivity, and pesticides. An assessment of environmental risk caused by xenobiotic contamination is especially important for agricultural areas in order to ensure production of quality food and medicinal plant material, and to protect consumers from contamination (Jabeen et al., 2010). Metals potentially harmful to human health persist in soils for a relatively long time and may transfer into the food chain in considerable amounts (Szynkowska et al., 2009). Herbs can be contaminated with heavy metals during growth, processing and handling. Heavy metals can have toxic ecological effects, high accumulation capacity, and represent one of the most important contemporary environmental problems (Nasim and Dhir, 2010). Fast development of industry, continuously increasing population, and intensification of road traffic are regarded as the foremost causes of ecosystem pollution in urban areas (Jankiewicz and Adamczyk, 2010). Contamination of the soil above natural levels by Pb, Zn, Cr and Co is a direct result of anthropogenic environmental pollution. The concentration of essential and nonessential heavy metals in herbs beyond permissible limits is a matter of great concern to public safety all over the world (Calixto, 2000). Chizzola et al. (2003) and Kabelitz (1998) evaluated heavy metal contamination in manufactured herbal products, and proposed acceptable limits for some species that show a tendency to accumulate certain heavy metals. A very unfavorable comparative of heavy