scholarly journals Heavy Metal Pollution and Mobility in Soils within a Landfill Vicinity: A South African Case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 1286-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Mwihaki Nyika ◽  
Ednah Kwamboka Onyari ◽  
Megersa Olumana Dinka ◽  
Shivani Bhardwaj Mishra

Heavy metal contamination in soils results from anthropogenic and lithologic factors and is a potential hazard to land and water resources. Sources of such pollution include landfills, domestic sewage, agricultural fertilisers and industries. In this work, soils from Roundhill landfill vicinity in South Africa were sampled and analyzed to determine the concentrations of particular heavy metals, namely As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn. The main objectives of this work were to: quantify the concentration levels of heavy metals in the soil; determine the mobility of the heavy metals in the soil; and establish their origins and interrelationships. The soils were collected at various distances and depths from the landfill facility. The concentrations of heavy metals in the soil samples were analysed by ICP-MS and statistical analysis was carried out to establish their relationships and sources. From the analysis, some elements including Cr, Mn, Cu and Ni had measured concentrations beyond the threshold limits in most sampling sites irrespective of their distance and depth from the landfill vicinity. Conversely, some elements were observed to be immobile and had higher concentrations on the top soils closer to the landfill, such as As, Pb, Zn, Co and V. Iron (Fe) had high concentrations in all the sampling sites due to its natural occurrence in the parent rocks. In conclusion, the potential of soil quality deterioration due to heavy metal pollution in a landfill vicinity was observed. Furthermore, all heavy metals observed showed positive correlation to each other except for As and Co, indicating same origin.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0255509
Author(s):  
Xing Gao ◽  
Junping Tian ◽  
Zheng Huo ◽  
Yanbin Wu ◽  
Chenxi Li

Heavy metal contamination in soil is an important factor affecting the determination of safe redevelopment methods for industrial and mining land. In this paper, the soil environment of a typical mining city in northern China was taken as the research object, 148 surface soil samples were collected and the contents of heavy metals were measured. The health risk classification criteria for heavy metal contamination of soils and the method of priority assessment for redevelopment were used. The results showed that: the risk of potential utilization types of heavy metals in the abandoned industrial and mining land is different. When the utilization type is agricultural land, the soil environmental quality is good as a whole, and a small number of plots are polluted by cadmium (Cd)and mercury (Hg); When the land use type is construction land, the risk of heavy metal pollution comes from chromium (Cr); The priority of development in this study area is as follows: agricultural land > construction land > ecological land.


2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Mendes ◽  
Catarina Eira ◽  
José Vingada ◽  
Jordi Miquel ◽  
Jordi Torres

AbstractHelminths are known to accumulate higher amounts of certain elements than their hosts. The present study assesses the accumulation of heavy metals in Tetrabothrius bassani and in its host, the Atlantic gannet (Morus bassanus) found dead due to bycatch along the seashore in the centre of Portugal. Samples of kidney, liver and pectoral muscle of 23 infected gannets, as well as specimens of T. bassani were analysed for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Pb, Se and Zn by ICP-MS. The evidenced lower concentrations of Cr and Pb in tissues of gannets in comparison to an earlier study performed in the same area may reveal a change in the diet of M. bassanus between both study periods. The highest bioaccumulation factor was obtained for Cd with a 12.7-times higher concentration in the cestode than in gannet muscle. Lead concentration in T. bassani was 6.9-times higher than in kidney tissue, 8.5-times higher than in muscle and 9.5-times higher than in liver of M. bassanus. The cestode/seabird system T. bassani/M. bassanus can be considered a promising bioindicator system to monitor environmental Cd and Pb pollution in marine ecosystems.


Author(s):  
Ivars Locis

The paper presents the issue of heavy metals in the different types of degraded territory in rural areas. For the test was chosen three different degraded territory: the former petrol station, the former farm mechanical workshop, the former farm cattle storage. All of three objects during operation were subjected to intensive polluting impact. They are included in the contaminated and potentially contaminated sites register. High concentrations of heavy metals in the soil of degraded territory is a factor that affects the planning for regeneration. Revitalization of contaminated sites and further use of them is possible only after the remediation works.


2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1148-1158
Author(s):  
Maryam Zare Khosheghbal ◽  
Marjan Esmaeilzadeh ◽  
Fereydoun Ghazban ◽  
Mohammad Ebrahim Charmsazi

Abstract This study aimed at exploring the extent of likely sources of heavy metal pollution in sediments of the Khajeh Kory riverbed in the north of Iran. In order to assess the heavy metal contamination, samples from surface sediments in 10 stations covering the river were collected and analysed to determine heavy metal contents including Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mn, Co, Al, and Fe. Three guidelines were applied to assess the heavy metal contamination. Compared with the global average values, the calculated enrichment factors indicated high values for Fe, Mn, Cd, Co, and Cu, and very high values for Pb and Zn. The results obtained from principal component analysis revealed that the geogenic and anthropogenic sources were the main causes of the widespread enrichment of heavy metals in the riverbed sediments. The results suggested that the riverbed sediments were contaminated with heavy metals, which contribute to the freshwater toxicity in the ecosystem of the Khajeh Kory River.


2013 ◽  
Vol 779-780 ◽  
pp. 1494-1499
Author(s):  
Bin Hui Jiang ◽  
Li Jiang ◽  
Li Li Fu ◽  
Chang Qi Yao ◽  
Yong Gang Huang ◽  
...  

The distribution and accumulation of heavy metals in the planting base soils in Shenyang, northeast of China, were investigated. Sixty soil samples were collected and characterized for heavy metals contents (AsCdCrPbHgNiCu and Zn). Concentration data were processed using correlation analysis and soils pollution assessment was carried out using geoaccumulation and PI. The results revealed that eight heavy metals contents of planting base all reached pollution level, which Pb and Hg pollution relatively serious, reached 2.41 and 2.1 respectively. The order of heavy metal pollution levels are: Pb> Hg> Zn = Cu> As> Ni> Cd> Cr. A significant correlation exists in Pb-Cd, Pb-Cu, Cd-As, Cu-Ni, while an extremely significant correlation exists between Zn-Cu. In addition to the parent material soil, the sources of soil heavy metals are mainly by the industrial, agricultural, transportation or other human activities and the effect of atmospheric transport and deposition. KEYWORDS: soil, heavy metal pollution, assessment, pollution index


Plants ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Meza ◽  
Camilo Lillo ◽  
Daniela Rivera ◽  
Eva Soto ◽  
Rodrigo Figueroa

Being adapted to saline environments, halophytes are plant species that have received considerable attention due to their ability to cope with environmental stress factors, such as high concentrations of soluble salts and heavy metals. In this work, we focused on determining if the Sarcocornia neei (S. neei) plant can be considered as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in soil. This was done by analyzing the concentration of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and arsenic (As) in plants and soil sampled from two wetlands in the central zone of Chile: a wetland contaminated by industrial activities and a wetland protected by the Chilean government. In addition, 14 fertility parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium (Na), Pb, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and boron (B)) were analyzed for soil samples in both wetlands. This was done to differentiate between available elements and contamination by heavy metals. Plant and soil samples in the contaminated wetland exhibited significantly higher heavy metal concentrations in comparison to samples analyzed from the protected wetland. This indicates that the S. neei plant can be further researched as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in saline soils and possibly for phytoremediation purposes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jia Yu ◽  
Rui Yang

Heavy metal pollution of soil is becoming a more serious issue globally. Heavy metal contamination of the soil environment is inevitable as a result of the rapid and extensive growth of industry and agriculture, resulting in unfavorable environmental circumstances for both the flora and fauna. Traditional approaches for collecting field sampling with laboratory testing of soil heavy metals are restricted not only by their time and cost but also by their inability to gather sufficient information about the spatial distribution characteristics of heavy metals in soil over a vast area. The continuous development of the urban industrial processes leads to the degree of heavy metal pollution in urban gardens. For soil monitoring and cleanup, having quick and accurate access to heavy metal concentration data is very crucial and critical. In order to improve the restoration ability of garden heavy metal pollution, a new algorithm to predict plant restoration ability under the garden heavy metal pollution environment is put forward in this study. Firstly, we analyzed the composition of garden heavy metal pollution and the harm of garden heavy metal pollution. Secondly, we identified the restoration technology of garden heavy metal pollution to plants, determine the level of garden heavy metal pollution with the help of the land accumulation index method, and reflect the average pollution water level of garden heavy metal elements with the help of Numero comprehensive pollution heatstroke. On this basis, the plant repairability prediction model was constructed with the help of wavelet function, to predict the plant repairability under garden heavy metal pollution environment and to complete the prediction of plant repairability under garden heavy metal pollution environment. The experimental results show that the proposed method was better than the traditional approaches in terms of prediction accuracy and is also less time-consuming.


2011 ◽  
Vol 356-360 ◽  
pp. 2730-2736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ren Xin Zhao ◽  
Wei Guo ◽  
Wen Hui Sun ◽  
Shi Lei Xue ◽  
Bo Gao ◽  
...  

The pollution status and total concentration of soil heavy metals were analyzed around Baotou tailing reservoir located in Inner Mongolia grassland and desert transition zone. Aim of the study is to control soil heavy metal pollution of Baotou tailings and provide the basic data information. The results indicated that concentrations of Pb, Zn and Mn from different directions of the tailing reservoir changed significantly with distance and were higher than the background values of Inner Mongolia. According to the single factor pollution index, soils from different directions were contaminated by Pb, Cu, Zn and Mn. The pollution degree was in order: Mn > Pb > Zn > Cu> Cr > Ni > As. According to Nemerow’s synthetical pollution index, soils collected from the southeast of the tailing reservoir had the most serious heavy metal contamination, the index was 11.1. The order of pollution level in different directions was southeast > northeast > southwest > northwest, which was mainly affected by the dominant wind of northwest. In general, the pollution characteristic and the elements of heavy metal contamination were corresponding with the concentrations of iron tailings. The health and stabilization of environmental quality are being threatened by soil heavy metals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongping Liu ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Huibin Yu ◽  
Hongjie Gao ◽  
Weining Xu

Abstract Background Heavy metal pollution of aquatic systems is a global issue that has received considerable attention. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and potential ecological risk index (PERI) have been applied to heavy metal data to trace potential factors, identify regional differences, and evaluate ecological risks. Sediment cores of 200 cm in depth were taken using a drilling platform at 10 sampling sites along the Xihe River, an urban river located in western Shenyang City, China. Then they were divided into 10 layers (20 cm each layer). The concentrations of the As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn were measured for each layer. Eight heavy metals, namely Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Hg, were measured for each layer in this study. Results The average concentrations of the As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Zn were significantly higher than their background values in soils in the region, and mainly gathered at 0–120 cm in depth in the upstream, 0–60 cm in the midstream, and 0–20 cm downstream. This indicated that these heavy metals were derived from the upstream areas where a large quantity of effluents from the wastewater treatment plants enter the river. Ni, Pb, and Cr were close or slightly higher than their background values. The decreasing order of the average concentration of Cd was upstream > midstream > downstream, so were Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn. The highest concentration of As was midstream, followed by upstream and then downstream, which was different to Cd. The potential factors of heavy metal pollution were Cd, Cu, Hg, Zn, and As, especially Cd and Hg with the high ecological risks. The ecological risk levels of all heavy metals were much higher in the upstream than the midstream and downstream. Conclusions Industrial discharge was the dominant source for eight heavy metals in the surveyed area, and rural domestic sewage has a stronger influence on the Hg pollution than industrial pollutants. These findings indicate that effective management strategies for sewage discharge should be developed to protect the environmental quality of urban rivers.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1801
Author(s):  
Valentina Andreea Calmuc ◽  
Madalina Calmuc ◽  
Maxim Arseni ◽  
Catalina Maria Topa ◽  
Mihaela Timofti ◽  
...  

It is a well–known fact that heavy metal pollution in sediments causes serious problems not only in the Danube basin, but also in the large and small adjacent river streams. A suitable method for assessing the level of heavy metals and their toxicity in sediments is the calculation of pollution indices. The present research aims to assess heavy metal pollution in the Lower Danube surface sediments collected along the Danube course (between 180 and 60 km) up to the point where the Danube River flows into the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO, protected area). In addition, this monitored area is one of the largest European hydrographic basins. Five heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu) were analyzed in two different seasons, i.e., the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019, using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP– MS) technique. Our assessment of heavy metal pollution revealed two correlated aspects: 1. a determination of the potential risks of heavy metals in sediments by calculating the Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI), and 2. an evaluation of the influence of anthropogenic activities on the level of heavy metal contamination in the surface sediments, using three specific pollution indices, namely, the Geo–Accumulation Index (Igeo), the Contamination Factor (CF), and the Pollution Load Index (PLI). The results of this pioneering research activity in the region highlighted the presence of moderate metal (Ni and Cd) pollution and a low potential ecological risk for the aquatic environment.


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