To assess the roadside soils contamination with Pb, Cd, and Zn, 34 soil samples were collected along Alexandria-Marsa Matruh highway, Egypt, and analyzed by using the atomic absorption. The contamination with these metals was evaluated by applying index of geoaccumulation ( geo ), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), the single ecological risk index ( ), and the potential ecological risk index (PERI). The average concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Zn were 38.2, 2.3, and 43.4 g/g, respectively.geo indicates the pollution of soil with Pb and Cd as opposed to Zn. shows that the roadside soils had low risk from Pb and Zn and had considerable to high risk from Cd. Most of the samples (62%) present low PERI risk associated with metal exposure and the rest of the samples (38%) are of moderate PERI. The bioavailable fraction (EDTA-Extract) was 72.5 and 37.5% for Pb and Cd contents, respectively. These results indicate the remarkable effect of vehicular and agricultural activities on Pb and Cd contents in soil.

Background: Soil pollution negatively impacts on food safety and human health. The main aim of this work is to determine the As, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb concentrations in Orabi farms, El Obour city, Egypt. The contamination of soil with these metals was assessed by contamination factors (CF), degree of contamination (DC), pollution load index (PLI), ecological risk factor (Er), potential ecological risk index (PRI), and index of geoaccumulation (I geo ). Eleven soil samples were collected from Orabi farms and analyzed for physicochemical characteristics. Results:The results indicate that Orabi soils are considered alkaline (pH = 8.11), weakly calcareous (CaCO 3 = 3.6%), sandy (sand = 90.23%) soils, and non-saline to slightly saline (EC = 4840.68 μS/cm) in nature. In addition, it contains negligible organic matter percent (OM = 3.15%) and so it is classified as mineral soil. The average concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb were 147. 46, 2.31, 44.50, 4.10, and 13.01 mg/kg, respectively. Conclusion: The calculated I geo , CF, and Er recorded that investigated soil samples are uncontaminated with Cr, Cu, and Pb, considerably contaminated with Cd, and highly contaminated with As. The calculated integrated pollution indices PRI, PLI, and DC showed that soil samples were contaminated with the studied heavy metals. The high CF values of As and Cd are the main contributor to soil high contamination. The application of fertilizers and other agricultural practice in the study area must be paid attention.

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