Evaluating top soil trace element pollution in the vicinity of a cement plant and a former open-cast uranium mine in central Argentina

Abstract

Purpose Heavy metals are especially dangerous because of their persistence and toxicity. Soil behaves as a sink of heavy metals by aerial deposition of particles emitted by different human activities. The aims of this work were to identify the levels and sources of heavy metal and trace elements in agricultural and residential areas in Argentina and to evaluate the enrichment of total and HCl-extracted heavy metals. Materials and methods Ninety-four topsoil samples were collected in Córdoba, Argentina (0-10 cm). The majority of the samples were subject to agricultural practices. The possible metal pollution sources were a cement plant and an industrial waste incinerator, a former open-cast uranium mine, petrochemical, and mechanical and metallurgical industries among others. The elements As, and Zn were measured by neutron activation analysis, and Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were partially extracted by 0.5-M HCl and measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Several nonparametric statistics were performed to the dataset in order to accomplish the objectives of the study. Results and discussion The mean total Ba concentration exceeded soil quality guidelines for residential areas, with the maximum total As and Co concentrations surpassing the agricultural and residential limits stated in national and international legislations. The elements As and Ba were found to be controlled by parent factors, whereas Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were controlled by both anthropogenic and pedogenic factors. A cement plant was the main source of Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, whereas lanthanides, Fe, K, U, and also Zn were associated with a former open-cast operation uranium mine. A correlation analysis showed that soil organic matter and pH had strong associations with 0.5-M HCl-extracted Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn. Conclusions Fe-normalized enrichment factors calculated for 0.5-M HCl-extracted heavy metals are potentially significant for characterizing the element bioavailability, the anthropogenic contamination, and the anomaly assessment. According to soil quality guidelines for environmental health, the human and wildlife populations in Córdoba Province might be experiencing toxic As, Ba, Co, Cr, Ta, U, and Zn effects. Therefore, mitigation strategies should be performed on an abandoned mine (Schlagintweit Uranium Mine), Yocsina, Despeñaderos, and Oliva.

Effects of heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Zn and Pb) in agricultural soils near different emission sources on quality, accumulation and food safety in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]

“…Differences in Cd soil concentration were not very pronounced among sites, except for the exchangeable Cd concentration in bulk topsoil; where the order was M > F > GP, PT, Y > RT, B H , B L , D, GC > LM. These general trends in Cd, Pb and Zn concentration are consistent with those found in previous studies, which evaluated soil trace element pollution in most of the sampling sites taken into account in the present work[13,25].…”

“…The sampling areas and their characteristics such dominant vegetation, anthropogenic activities, soil type, location, population, and pollution references [12,13,[23][24][25][26] are described in Table 1.…”

Investigating the Distribution of Selected Major and Trace Metals in Lithogenic Environment near Cement Factory, Mekelle, Ethiopia

“…About 42.66% of the total variance is accounted for by the first factor in the residual data with higher loading of Na, K, Mn, Cr, Cu, Pb and Ni in the lithogenic media. This indicates the influence of local anthropogenic activities such as the cement factory and traffic movement [20][21][22]. It was noted that Cr and Pb in both media as well as Mn in the soil media have lowest water soluble proportions but are grouped under the anthropogenic factor.…”

“…Presence of Pb, Fe and Zn can indicate that dual sources have contributed to their concentrations [7]. [21] found the elements As to be controlled by parent factors, whereas Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn by both anthropogenic and pedogenic factors. The third factor in the water extraction data accounts for 21.34% of the total variance was composed by Ca, Mo, Mg, and Fe (after rotation).…”

Cadmium and Lead Disruption in Soils Around the Hegmatan Cement Factory, Iran

“…Soils act as a sink of heavy metals by serving as a place for the atmospheric deposition of particles emitted by industrial activities, such as cement production (1). The problem of dust pollution has been found to exist around cement factories (2, 3), so they key environmental issues for the manufacture of cement are the avoidance of gas and dust emissions during the production of cements, due to their harmful effect on plants and animals (4).…”