Introduction & Objective: Tea is the most popular beverage in the world and contains several essential nutrients, which are beneficial for human health. Because the contamination of tea leaves by heavy metals may pose a serious threat to human, this study was carried out for analysis and health risk assessment of As, Pb, Cd and Cr in some black and green tea brand samples marketed in Hamadan City in 2015.

Materials & Methods: After collection and preparation of  3 brands from each of cultivated and imported black and green tea specimens with acid digestion method in the laboratory, the concentrations of elements in samples were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometery in 3 replications. Also, all statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical package.

Results: The results showed that the maximum mean concentrations of As,Pb,Cd and Cr were as follows : As  0.34±0.54 µg kg^-1 in imported green tea, Pb, Cd 577.0±608.0, 37.0±15.0 in domestic green tea respectively,  and Cr 165.0±114.0  iimported black tea samples, and significantly lower than WHO and ISIRI permissible limits.

Conclusion: Although consumption of tea has not any adverse effects on the consumers’ health,  due to the increased use of agricultural inputs, sewage sludge and wastewater by farmers regular periodic monitoring of chemical pollutants content specially heavy metals in foodstuffs are recommended for food safety.

(Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2016; 23 (1):65-74)