Distribution of some potentially toxic heavy metals in the soil of Shoubra El Kheima, Egypt

Abstract

This study aims to detect the effect of industrialization and urbanization on the soil content of some potentially toxic heavy metals. The soil of Shoubra El Kheima was considered one of the most fertile soils in the Nile Delta, Egypt. Forty samples from this soil were texturally categorized and chemically analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The data were treated statistically and by geographic information system technique. The agricultural soils in the study area are mainly classified as clayey soil, whereas urban and industrial soil samples are varied in their classification from clayey to loamy sand. As, Cd and Zn in the soil exceed the maximum permissible limits whereas, Cu, Cr, Ni and Pb are within the permissible limit except for some samples. The obtained data show that the concentrations of Cu, As, Zn, Pb, Ni and Cr increase in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the study area. Urbanization, agricultural practices, and the atmospheric deposition from the different industrial activities are thought to be the main anthropogenic sources of heavy metals contamination in the study area.