Heavy metals' origin, accumulation, and distribution in soil samples have been the focus of much attention by many researchers to monitor soil pollution. The objective of this study is to determine the levels of the heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in the soil samples collected from different areas residential, industrial and agricultural of Al-Diwaniyah governorate southern Iraq using the effective technique of atomic absorption spectroscopy AAS, so that the degree of pollution could be ascertained. The results show that the mean values of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations in soil samples are 31.75, 1.804, 18.51 and 29.82 mg/l, respectively. The results show that the heavy metals concentrations were found to be higher in industrial regions than the other locations. Mean values of Pb and Cd in soils studied were generally higher than the acceptable limits, suggesting some degrees of pollution with heavy metals.
In the present investigation, neutron activation technique for nuclear track detectors CR-39 has been applied to determine the uranium concentration in selected soil samples collected from different areas residential, industrial and agricultural of Al-Diwaniyah governorate southern Iraq, with various depths of soil (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 cm), respectively. The results show that the uranium contents in soil samples ranged from 3.66 ± 0.13 ppm to 0.71 ± 0.16 ppm, with an average value of 2.1 ± 0.12 ppm. Results of this work showed a decrease of uranium concentration with increased depth of soil. The results were compared with the published data and they were found to be within the safety levels.
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