Abstract
The potential hazard to human health from exposure to heavy metals in surface soil was assessed using 66 soil samples collected from Ahvaz oil field. To this end, the contents of heavy metals were measured by the inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Mean levels of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn were 5.9, 0.4, 7.1, 36.5, 41.2, 39.8, 67.4, 31.5, and 77.6 mg/kg, respectively. Contents of all studied heavy metals, with the exception of Co, Cr, and V, were several times higher than that of baselines. Correlation coefficients and principal component analysis (PCA) identified two main groups as sources of heavy metals in the surface soil of Ahvaz oil-field. Metals such as Co, Cr, and V were observed to originate from natural sources and As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn originated from anthropogenic sources such as petroleum leakage and the pollution caused by drilling mud from oil wells. Pb and Zn were of significantly high EF mean enrichment value, and Co, Cu, Cd, and As had high enrichment in surface soil. Pb, Cr, V, Zn, Co, Cu, Ni, and As had a low potential ecological risk (PER) whereas Cd had a moderate PER. The risk of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic diseases was detected to be higher in children than in adults. The carcinogenic risk (Cr) calculation was more than 1 × 10-6 for children and adults. Additionally, the CR of Cr for both children and adults indicated risk under control conditions.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, special attention has been paid to the ramifications of environmental pollution due to the growing needs of the population, the development of land and mineral resources, and the creation of a wide range of chemical pollutants including heavy metals [1,2]
This study aimed to 1) determine the levels of heavy metals such as Pb, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, carcinogenic risk (Cr), As, V and Co in the soil surrounding the drilling rigs and oil installations in Ahvaz oilfield; 2) use statistical analyses such as Pearson’s correlation coefficients, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) to specify the relationships between different elements used in detecting the natural or anthropogenic sources of such elements and understand how they are transferred in the environment; and 3) evaluate the risks of heavy metals on human health and environment based on environmental indices such as enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, potential ecological risk, and human health risk
We determined the concentration values, index of geoaccumulation, enrichment factors, and ecological and human health risk of potentially heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, As, Ni, Co, and V) in the surface soil of Ahvaz oil field; all heavy metals, with the exception of Co, Cr, and V in the surface soil were higher than their corresponding upper crust content (UCC), potential anthropogenic sources
Summary
Over the past two decades, special attention has been paid to the ramifications of environmental pollution due to the growing needs of the population, the development of land and mineral resources, and the creation of a wide range of chemical pollutants including heavy metals [1,2]. Soil is in contact with other environmental components such as air and water; contaminants can spread to the surface and groundwater as well as air, thereby polluting them [3]. The most important soil pollutants are heavy metals, acid precipitation, and organic matters, among which heavy metals have attracted considerable attention owing to their non-degradable, toxic, and carcinogenic properties [4]. Heavy metals are present in the evironment via anthropological and natural mechanisms.
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