Abstract

Background: honey is produced and consumed all over the world and is regarded as one of the most significant and nourishing foods known to humanity. The habitat, type of food honey bees mainly consumes, and other related variables all influence the element content of honey. The current study aims to investigate the quantities of the following elements, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and vanadium (V), in honey produced from hives located near oil extraction areas in Kirkuk, Iraq. Methods: fifteen samples of honey, each with individual colony were collected from 5 different locations. Following microwave digestion, a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS) was applied to filter samples. Pb, cadmium, Ni, and vanadium concentrations were measured using ATR-FTIR. One-way ANOVA, Fisher’s protected LSD, and Dunnett-adjusted comparisons were used to evaluate the influence of geographic location against the field-reference site H1. Results: H5 site showed highest levels of Ni and vanadium amounting to (0.987 and 1.910 mg/kg⁻¹), respectively. According to Dunnett-adjusted comparisons H1 site showed lowest levels of V compared to H3, H4, and H5 sites, however, a significant increase was observed in Ni content in H5 site. In addition, Pb and Cd levels reached (0.076 and 0.0533 mg/kg⁻¹), respectively, even though they did not differ much compared to H1 site. All recorded Pb levels were below the limit threshold (0.1 mg kg⁻¹) of honey. Petroleum residues and metal-binding processes were not independently confirmed by ATR-FTIR spectra, which were dominated by metal-binding mechanisms. Novelty of the study: the assessment of (Pb, Ni, Cd, and V) in honey samples from hives near oil extraction infrastructural sites in Kirkuk, is one of the most significant colony-level assessments. This assessment incorporates the geographical and climate context with authorized elemental analysis. Conclusion: in preference to metal contamination, the element-specific pattern indicates a selective V-Ni accumulation in H5 site. Although source designation demands synchronized investigation of soil, dust, vegetation, pollen, and bee tissues, honey proved helpful as a screening matrix.