Soil contamination, pollution indices, and ecological risk in agricultural areas of important mining region of Türkiye

Abstract

ABSTRACT Heavy metals accumulate mostly in soil in nature, and heavy metal pollution is becoming a serious concern. This study aimed to determine the pollution level and possible sources of heavy metals in the agricultural areas in the Emet district of Kütahya, where a significant boron mine is located worldwide. 64 soil samples were taken from Emet district of Kütahya, Türkiye in 2016, and Cr, Co, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb analysed. Heavy metal pollution was determined using the Enrichment Factor (Ef), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Contamination Factor (Cf), and Ecological Risk Factor (Er), Pollution Load Index (PLI), and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI). According to the pollution index Ef, the study area is moderately enriched in terms of Pb (4.18) and Zn (2.17), while in terms of Cf, the study area is moderately polluted in terms of Pb (2.13) and Zn (1.02). Moreover, the PLI (2.67) index shows that soils are under multiple heavy metal pollution. According to Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis, the source of Pb and Zn in the study area is anthropogenic. However, no heavy metal pollution caused by boron mine was found in the study area.