Soil Contamination Due to Heavy Metals from an Industrial Area of Surat, Gujarat, Western India

Abstract

The pollution of soil is a source of danger to the health of people, even to those living in cities. The anthropogenic pollution caused by heavy industries enters plants then goes through the food chain and ultimately endangers human health. In the context, the knowledge of the regional variability, the background values and anthropogenic vs. natural origin of potentially harmful elements in soils is of critical importance to assess human impact. The present study was undertaken on soil contamination in Surat, Gujarat (India). The aims of the study were: i) to determine extent and distribution of heavy metals (Ba, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Sr, V and Zn) ii) to find out the large scale variability, iii) to delineate the source as geogenic or anthropogenic based on the distribution maps and correlation of metals in soils. Soil samples were collected from the industrial area of Surat from top 10 cm layer of the soil. These samples were analysed for heavy metals by using Philips PW 2440 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The data reveal that soils in the area are significantly contaminated, showing higher levels of toxic elements than normal distribution. The heavy metal loads of the soils in the study area are 471.7 mg/kg for Ba, 137.5 mg/kg for Cu, 305.2 mg/kg for Cr, 51.3 mg/kg for Co, 79.0 mg/kg for Ni, 317.9 mg/kg for Sr, 380.6 mg/kg for V and 139.0 mg/kg for Zn. The higher concentrations of these toxic metals in soils need to be monitored regularly for heavy metal enrichment.

Assessment of some heavy metals in the surrounding soils of an automobile battery factory in Ibadan, Nigeria

“…However, higher mean concentrations of Zn, Cr, Cd and Cu have been reported in soils from some industrial areas (Onianwa and Fakayode, 2000;Iwegbue et al, 2006;Krishna and Govil, 2007;Ogundiran and Osibanjo, 2009;Iyaka and Kakulu, 2012a). Fe content in the soil has a natural concentration level ranging between 3000 -5000 mg/kg (Awokunmi et al, 2010).…”

Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Contaminated Sites in India

“…Around 300 industries exist in this area which includes chemical, dye, textile, paint and marble based industries. Site 3 is Surat industrial area situated in south Gujarat, India [25]. This site is also identified as polluted by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), New Delhi.…”

“…Due to all these associated health risks, health risk assessment of a contaminated site has gained a lot of attention among the researchers. A large number of researchers have worked to determine the concentration of various contaminants at different sites in India like Chhattisgarh [10], Hyderabad [11 and 12], Kanpur [13, 14, 15, 16 and 17], Mumbai [18], Mysore [19 and 20], Patancheru [21], Pondicherry [22], Rajasthan [23], Ranga Reddy [24], Surat [25], Sivasagar and Dibrugarh [26], Tamil Nadu [27] and Thane [28]. Only few researchers have discussed the health risk associated to the contaminated sites in India.…”

“…In this study, three sites were selected out of pre-identified 557 contaminated sites, each from Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Work has been already done at Balanagar Industrial Area, Hyderabad [12]; Pali Industrial Area, Rajasthan [23] and Surat Industrial Area, Gujarat [25] to determine the extent and concentration of heavy metals. Results presented by these authors were used in this study for the assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks to human.…”

Remediation of heavy metal contaminated ecosystem: an overview on technology advancement

“…The results showed significant amount of heavy metals, above the Indian Standard limits in both the soil as well as the vegetation samples. In 2007, soil samples were collected from the industrial area of Surat city, present in the western state of Gujarat by Krishna and Govil (2007). It was found that soil in the study area is significantly contaminated with high concentrations of heavy elements like Ba, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Sr, V and Zn.…”