Evaluation of Soil Contamination by Heavy Metals in the Vicinity of Boucaid Mine, Ouarsenis (N.O. Algeria)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The long mining activities in Ouarsenis region can be the soil pollution source around the mine. For this reason, for the first one, seven heavy metals collected from the mine and its surroundings are calculated to know the source of these heavy metals and evaluate their contamination in the study area. The means concentration of studied heavy metals vicinity to Boucaid mine range between 2.91 and 92.72 mg.kg−1, the high value is recorded for Pb and the low for Zn. The means concentration of seven heavy metals in the mine varies between 3.35 and 168.52 mg.kg−1. The concentration of samples collected in Sidi Slimane have high concentration of Pb than other sites. The means concentration of Mn, Pb, and Cd are higher than background values and in the mine than study area, which suggests their anthropogenic source. The geoaccumulation index values of Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Cd are low to zero, which indicated that the study area is uncontaminated by these heavy metals. The index of potential ecological risk factors is 80.86, which is less than 150, showed low potential ecological risk. The principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis confirm the mixed anthropogenic sources of heavy metals.