To assess the roadside soils contamination with Pb, Cd, and Zn, 34 soil samples were collected along Alexandria-Marsa Matruh highway, Egypt, and analyzed by using the atomic absorption. The contamination with these metals was evaluated by applying index of geoaccumulation ( geo ), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), the single ecological risk index ( ), and the potential ecological risk index (PERI). The average concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Zn were 38.2, 2.3, and 43.4 g/g, respectively.geo indicates the pollution of soil with Pb and Cd as opposed to Zn. shows that the roadside soils had low risk from Pb and Zn and had considerable to high risk from Cd. Most of the samples (62%) present low PERI risk associated with metal exposure and the rest of the samples (38%) are of moderate PERI. The bioavailable fraction (EDTA-Extract) was 72.5 and 37.5% for Pb and Cd contents, respectively. These results indicate the remarkable effect of vehicular and agricultural activities on Pb and Cd contents in soil.

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Background: Gerga district contains different activities, urban, agriculture, and industry, which can impact adversely on the soil quality. Sixteen samples of the agricultural soil (0-30-cm depth) were collected to investigate the pollution of soil with trace elements (Co, Ni, Pb, and Mn). The statistical techniques were applied to discriminate the sources of these elements. Results: The studied soil ranged from uncontaminated to moderately contaminated with the studied trace elements based on the contamination factor index. The statistical analyses indicated the anthropogenic source of Co, Ni, and Pb as well as the natural source of Mn. Conclusions: The statistical analyses assisted in the discrimination of natural and anthropogenic sources of trace elements in the investigated soil samples. Mn is mainly of natural origin, affected by pedogenic factor, whereas traffic emissions and phosphate fertilizer, as well as domestic activities, are relevant sources of Co, Ni, and Pb elements in the studied soil. Consequently, the recommendation is periodic environmental monitoring and minimizing the fertilization rate.

A SSIUT District represents an important part of central Nile Valley. It is a complex district containing many big industries, urbanization and agricultural activities. These activities can lead to the pollution of agricultural soil with toxic heavy metals. The aim of this work is the assessment of potential risks of these metals in soils using pollution indices; Enrichment Factor (EF), Index of Geoaccumulation (I geo ), Contamination Factor (CF), Ecological Risk Factor (E r ), Degree of Contamination (C d ), Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI). The present study calculated the mentioned indices for eight heavy metals; As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn.Pollution indices calculations revealed that the investigated area can considered generally moderately polluted with the studied heavy metals. The emission of heavy metals from the factories as well as agricultural practices, urban runoff and sewage stations in the zone may be the source of that pollution. Consequently, control methods must be functional to the area adjacent to the factories to diminish the pollution. Finally, the studied cultivated soils showed low pollution than other cultivated soils in Australia,

Southwest Giza area is one of the most complicated regions in Egypt because of the combination of agricultural, industrial and urbanization activities with few studies about water resources contamination with heavy metals. In this study, ten surface water samples and eight groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for pollution with Fe, Mn, As, Cr, Cd, Pb and Cu. The samples were collected randomly according to the topographic locations and accessibility. The surface water is suitable for both drinking and irrigation use according to its salinity (total dissolved solids, TDS < 500 mg/l) and content of major ions. Unfortunately, some samples contain concentrations of As, Cd, Cu and Pb higher than the WHO drinking water guidelines. The groundwater samples have TDS ranging from 204 to 2,100 mg/l. Also, the groundwater contains higher concentrations of Fe, Mn and As than surface water. The highest concentrations of heavy metals As, Cd and Pb were recorded in the desert fringes and close to the industrial complexes indicating the role of geological sediments in the transportation and migration of pollutants. The unconfined part of the Quaternary aquifer in the desert fringes is more vulnerable to contamination. The results of this study reflect the role of human and industrial activates in polluting water resources with heavy metals, which puts the aquatic environment in the study area under stress.

In this study, we used the modified scheme of Tessier et al. [6] adapted from Gleyzes et al. [21] and Phuong [11], as the following:

Groundwater is the main source of water for different purposes in the desert areas of Egypt. The agricultural and different human activities in line with hydrological characteristics have influenced the quality of this water resource. The main aim of this work was the determination of groundwater quality and vulnerability to pollution in west Luxor Governorate, Egypt. For completion of this work, 50 boreholes were sampled during October 2014 and groundwater samples were analyzed chemically. Hydrological, topographic, lithological, climatic conditions and land use data, which considered key factors for pollutants transport, were also collected for building groundwater vulnerability maps. The results revealed high levels of groundwater pollution with NO 3¯, Cd and Pb, as well as increased levels of total dissolved solids. The map of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability (based on the IV index; Arauzo 2017) showed medium and high levels of vulnerability associated with natural factors in 62% and 38% of the area, respectively. The map of specific groundwater vulnerability (based on the LU-IV procedure; Arauzo 2017) indicated that 52% of the area showed high to extreme levels of vulnerability to nitrate pollution from nonpoint sources. From this, it was concluded that the study area can be considered as Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) and, therefore, specific measures (including optimization of water and N-fertilizers applications) must be taken in order to restore water quality.