Abstract
The present study was carried out to determine the physico-chemical characteristics and heavy metal contents in roadside soil samples collected during 2 sampling periods (September 2018 and April 2019) from 8 different roadside sites lying parallel to the Buddha Nullah, an old rivulet, flowing through Ludhiana, (Punjab) India. The contents (mg/kg) of seven metals (cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel and zinc) were estimated using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Among the metals analyzed, the contents of Cd, Co, Cu, Pb and Zn were found above the permissible limits. The results of the index of geoaccumulation (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), contamination degree (Cdeg), modified contamination degree (mCdeg), the Nemerow pollution index (PI) and pollution load index (PLI) indicate a moderate to high heavy metal contamination of the analyzed soil samples. The results of the potential ecological risk factor (ERi) and potential ecological risk index (RI) indicate a low to moderate risk of heavy metals in the studied soil samples. The Pearson correlation analysis revealed that most of the variables exhibited a statistically significant correlation with one or more variables during the two samplings. Multivariate analysis demonstrates that contents of heavy metals in the study area are influenced by anthropogenic and geogenic factors.
Highlights
Soil, all over the world in the past years, has been contaminated very rapidly due to different anthropogenic activities, such as effluent discharges from domestic and industrial sources, crumbs of vehicular parts, mining activities, power stations and metallurgical industries [1]
Heavy metals have been recognized as potential carcinogens that fall under the category of most hazardous pollutants due to their direct toxicity, ecological risks and non-degradable nature [4]
(6.66) for the Geeta Nagar (GN) sample collected during Sampling 1, and maximum (7.78)
Summary
All over the world in the past years, has been contaminated very rapidly due to different anthropogenic activities, such as effluent discharges from domestic and industrial sources, crumbs of vehicular parts, mining activities, power stations and metallurgical industries [1]. Various types of contaminants, such as heavy metals, pesticides and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, have been documented to enter the soil ecosystem through direct and indirect human activities [2,3]. The ultimate threat of heavy metals in the soil is due to their persistent nature and their potential to become bio-accumulated in food crop plants [8,9]. Once these heavy metals enter food crops, they can pose adverse effects upon the consumption of contaminated vegetables and
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