Many cities are great places to keep bees - abundant floral resources,
water, etc.  Unless you have really heavy traffic, the honey should not
have unacceptably high levels of lead.  You are more likely to see lead in
the pollen.  In Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. the highest lead values were
downwind from smelters, along major highways (both in the city and the
rural areas) and were highest in the bees themselves, followed by pollen,
and lowest or undetectable in honey.  Overall urban bees were no worse than
the bees in more rural areas.  Proximity to heavy industries was a more
important factor regarding overall contamination.  Similar results have
been reported by several European studies, especially in Germany.
 
Jerry Bromenshenk
University of Montana
 
At 04:54 PM 1/17/98 +0200, you wrote:
>Hi, Jan
>
>I live in Kaunas, apr. 400,000 citizen. At the outskirts one can see some
hives. There are many limetrees in some parts of our town. I rarely notice
any bee while lime blooming time.
>
>I haven't heard the bee keeping was forbidden. But what is a reason to
have them in town ? I suppose such honey should be contaminated at least
with lead. We almost don't have Buckfast bees but Caucasian, Carnica, mixed
with local ones. One my such "Carnika" is very bad-tempered.
>
>Good luck, Rimantas
>
>
>Rimantas Zujus
>Kaunas
>LITHUANIA
>
>e-mail : [log in to unmask]
>
>Jan Tempelman writes :
>
>Here in Rotterdam, we have beekeepers in the middle of the town
>Hives on the roof, or in little garden
>With al the parks, a great place to keep bees.
>And in 1996, almost all honey was from louses
>And in the sub-urbs, always anything is blomming
>
>greeting, jan
>
>
Jerry J. Bromenshenk, Ph.D.
Director, DOE/EPSCoR & Montana Organization for Research in Energy
The University of Montana-Missoula
Missoula, MT  59812-1002
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel:  406-243-5648
Fax:  406-243-4184