Investigation of heavy metals accumulation in the soil and pine trees

Abstract

Background: Human activities related to workshops in the cities contribute to the release of heavy metals into the environment, which pose serious risks to the environment and to human health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the concentration of lead (Pb), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) in the pine trees and soil in various land uses of Birjand city, Iran. Methods: The sampling stations were randomly selected from different land uses including parks, streets, carwashes, car repair shops, and car smooth shops in Birjand city. The pine trees (skin and leaves) and soil samples were collected from 15 stations located at different and uses in 2017. To determine the concentration of heavy metals, atomic absorption spectrometer (Contr AA 700) was used. Results: It was revealed that the mean concentration of Pb, Fe and Mn in residential soil was 1.79, 419.39, and 30.76 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, the Pb, Fe, and Mn concentration in pine skin and leaves was 0.63 – 0.18, 23.05–9.84, and 10.05–3.13 mg/kg, respectively. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) mean of the study areas demonstrated a descending trend for Fe (16.31 mg/kg) <Mn (8.86 mg/kg) <Pb (0.41 mg/kg). Pb showed the highest transfer factor in the parks and streets followed by Mn and Fe. In the car repair and smooth shops, the highest transfer factor pertained to Pb and the lowest one pertained to Fe. The statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant difference in the Fe and Mn concentrations among various land uses (P < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, the soils of car repair and smooth shops as well as carwashes in Birjand are becoming polluted by Pb, Fe, and Mn. Although, it does not threaten the city ecosystem, but with passage of time, these measures will be accumulated due to the soil alkalinity and will reach critical levels.

Pollution Assessment Based on Element Concentration of Tree Leaves and Topsoil in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand

“…Unfortunately, atmospheric heavy metal emission (the amount of emitted pollutants at the source) and immission (measured concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere at a given location) levels are rarely monitored. In recent studies, elevated concentrations of several metals have been found in the soil around car repair shops and carwashes [ 11 ] and even in the soil of suburban vegetable gardens [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Assessment of heavy metals concentrations in the soil of Mongla industrial area, Bangladesh

“…Probably, traffic and other related activities such as liquid petroleum stations, battery packs, oil changes, etc. are responsible for the elevated levels of Cu and Zn in soil (35). The average concentration of Cd in the soil was 0.59 ± 0.13 mg kg -1 , which was below the safe limit (1.00 mg kg -1 ) (39) and also lower than the certified value in Bangladesh (41).…”

“…where C i is the concentration of heavy metals in soil samples, C 0 is the reference of background value for heavy metals, and T i is the toxic response factor for the heavy metals, which its value for Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb is 1, 5, 5, 1, 30, and 5, respectively (34)(35)(36)(37). Soils were categorized into 5 classes based on the PERIF and ERIF values.…”

The assessment of soil contamination with heavy metals in the Vladimir city

“…Mercury, cadmium, lead and arsenic are the most toxic heavy metals -body poisoning caused by them might have serious consequences [1]. Such heavy metals as zinc, copper, and cobalt are less toxic and inhibit microbiological activity and reduce biological efficiency [2,3].…”