Determination of Some Heavy Metals in Serpentinitic Soils and Rocks from Sulaymaniyah / Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigated the assessed total content of Arsenics, Ba, Pb, Rb, Sn, Sr, U and V in serpentinitic soils and rocks that wide spread over Penjwin and Mawat area in Sulaymaniyah governorate/ Kurdistan region of Iraq. This research was carried out during the seasons of 2018-2019 in seven pedons (1, 2 and 3 from Penjwin area, 4,5, 6, and 7 from Mawat area) that chosen according to the variation in chemical composition of the parent materials that soil developed. The pedons of Penjwin area were classified as Inceptisols, while the pedons from Mawat area were classified as Mollisols. The results showed that the total selected metals concentration of soils in all pedons were varied, and the total contents of heavy metal in the soil samples decreased in the order of V > Sr > Ba > Rb > Pb > As >Sn > U. The total concentration of As, Ba, Pb, Rb, Sn, Sr, U and V in soils were ranged between (< 0.2 to 11.8, 20 to 310, 1.3 to 22.7, 3.2 to 71.4, 0.2 to 4.1, 69.1 to 179.0, 0.1 to 1.9 and 88 to 277 mg kg-1) respectively. In addition, V contents in these soils were higher in compared to the other studied elements, with considerable variation between pedons on different landscapes, which reflected the serpentinitic differences and degrees in chemical weathering of the associative serpentinitic rocks. Total concentration of studied metals in rocks from both areas were varied and these values ranged between (<5 to 6.0, <10 to 10, 6 to 37.3, 0.2 to 1.2, <0.2 to 17.3, 5.2 to 137, <0.1 to 0.4 and 15 to 206 mg kg-1) for As, Ba, Pb, Rb, Sn, Sr, U and V respectively.