Abstract
In this study, the agricultural soil around Zhuzhou Smelter in Zhuzhou district, Hunan, China and Huludao Zinc Plant in Huludao district, Liaoning, China was selected as the research area to discuss the current situation of heavy metal pollution in the surrounding agricultural soil caused by different smelting plants for soil environmental management and sustainable development of soil resources. Eight elements’ (Cd, Pb, As, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn) contents were measured to assess their pollution risk level and spatial distribution distinction. Correlation analysis, the positive matrix factorization (PMF), and Pb isotope ratio method were employed to analyze the sources of soil heavy metal pollution in the research area. The contents of Cd, Pb, Hg, and Zn in the soil of the two research areas were seriously polluted, and the changes of their spatial content were related to the migration and sedimentation of the smelter waste gas. Four types of pollution sources, including the smelting source, agricultural sources, natural sources, and mixed sources of industrial activity and traffic were identified in both areas by PMF, and the contribution rates of the four pollution sources in both areas were similar. Taking the agricultural soil around Huludao Zinc Plant as an example, the contribution rates of the different pollution sources analyzed by Pb isotope ratio method were the lead smelting source (43.7%), followed by the agricultural source (34.6%), traffic source (14.2%), and natural source (7.5%), which were basically consistent with that of PMF analysis, verifying the reliability of the two methods. The results above showed that the smelters were the main cause of heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils around the two research areas, and the analysis results of element content ratio and smelting source characteristic element contribution rate ratio could provide reference for the analysis of heavy metal pollution in agricultural soil around smelters for soil pollution control decision making.
Highlights
Four types of samples were collected in the Huludao research area in September 2018, namely: (1) smelting, with 2 samples collected from factory soil (0–20 cm) and refining slag produced in the production process; (2) fertilizer, with 1 sample collected from the most commonly used fertilizer in the area; (3) vehicle exhaust dust, with 2 samples collected from particulate matter at the exhaust pipe of motor vehicles using a brush; and (4) soil parent materials, with 2 samples collected from the soils (40–60 cm)
For Zn, the pollution contamination status in the Zhuzhou research area was slightly contaminated, while it was serious in the Huludao research area
The results above have shown that the two smelters were the main cause of heavy metal pollution for the surrounding agricultural soil, which was consistent with the pre
Summary
Huludao Zinc Plant emitted about 747.66 tons of Cd through soot, which is equivalent to the annual Cd average of 24.12 tons [21] These emissions spread through atmospheric migration with the pollution source as the center, which could cause heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils around the Zhuzhou and Huludao smelters. A number of previous studies on soil heavy metal pollution at Huludao Zinc Plant mostly focused on the spatial distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals. After analyzing the soil heavy metals in the research areas by PMF and the Pb isotope ratio method, the main pollution sources and corresponding contribution rates were explored. The element content ratio and the smelting source characteristic element contribution ratio were obtained to provide a reference basis for the pollution characteristics of heavy metals in agricultural soil around the smelter
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