Assessment of metals in agricultural soil of surrounding areas of Urmia Lake,northwest Iran: A preliminary ecological risk assessment and source identification |
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| Authors: | Amir Mohammadi Yaghoub Hajizadeh Hassan Taghipour Asghar Mosleh Arani Hossein Fallahzadeh |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran;2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Environment Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran;3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Health and Environment Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran;4. Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Department of Environment, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran;5. Faculty of Health, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Research Center of Prevention and Epidemiology of Non-communicable Disease, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran |
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to quantify the levels of toxic heavy metals and sodium in topsoil of farmlands around the Urmia Lake. A total of 96 topsoil samples were collected, pre-treated, and analyzed for metals using ICP-AES. Median concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Na in sampling sites were 5, 0.26, 30, 40, 13, 84, and 251 mg/kg, respectively. The enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, and contamination factor of the metals ranked them in the order of: Na > Pb > Cu > As > Cd > Zn > Ni, indicating minor contamination for them except Na and Pb with moderate contamination. Furthermore, the spatial analysis indicated that Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn had similar distribution patterns in the north and northwest lands of the lake. Principal component analysis revealed anthropogenic sources for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the soil, whereas, sources of As and Na were most likely related to the dust emitting from the dried bed of Urmia Lake and from a cement industry. Potential ecological risk index in 7% of the sampling sites was at serious or considerable pollution level, and Cd and Pb were identified as the main pollutants. |
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| Keywords: | Urmia Lake agricultural soil heavy metals and sodium pollution index |
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