Mineralogical and Heavy Metal Assessment of Iraqi Soils from Urban and Rural Areas

Abstract

The concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Cr in top soils (0-15 cm) from urbanized and rural areas of Iraq were measured by X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF). The results revealed that soil samples located in urban areas had higher metal contents than did soil samples from rural areas. This was probably due to local pollution from increased population and other industrial sources.The comparison with the soil quality guidelines showed that metal concentrations in all the studied locations are lower than the permissible levels admitted by the World Health Organization (WHO).The mineralogical composition of the top soils, identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), was predominantly Quartz, Calcite and minor minerals such as Dolomite, Feldspar and clay minerals. Total clay minerals in the soil samples, ranged from 3-10%, were found to be dominated by Montmorillonite, Kaolinite and Feldspar. The highest clay content was observed in Diala soils near the river Tigris.

DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS CONCENTRATION OF LOCAL AND IMPORTED WHEAT GRAINS STORAGE AND WHEAT FLOUR IN SOME SILOS of BAGHDAD CITY

“…The dried mass of each sample was grounded to fine powder using grain miller (BraBenDer company, Germany origin), preserved in a sterile plastic container with identification mark label until analysis. Three grams prepared of the powder samples were weighed and pressed into pellets, the pellets were used for the determination of heavy metals such as(Hg , Pb ,Co, Cr, Fe, Cd, Ni, Ar ,Ag, Sn, Cu) levels were carried out using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry(Ametek company, Germany 2010 in origin) according to methods described previously (2) . Statistical analysis Statistical analysis (25) program was used to reveal the effect of differences agents on study parameters.…”

Assessment of rainwater pollution and bio-monitoring of trace metals air pollution by two types of plants in southern Iraq, Basrah city

“…Pb is a toxic metal to humans, causing carcinogenic impacts and teratogenic abnormalities in humans, even at very low concentrations (32,28) . The high concentration of Pb recorded in QAE (1449, 27 μg L-1) may be due to the nature of anthropogenic activities connected with oil products and traffic (33,34) , the release of unsuccessfully treated waste effluents and Pb-containing pesticides. These results were therefore consistent in the rainwater samples analyzed (27,35) .…”

“…Rapid urbanization and industrial developments along with unsuitable waste disposal processes have resulted in high metals concentrations in developing countries' urban environments. In addition, one of the main sources of trace metal pollution in urban soils and plants is atmospheric deposition (33,37) . The descending order of trace metals was the same as that observed in rainwater patterns.…”

Effect of Kawrgosk Oil Refinery on Some Physicochemical Characteristics, Microbial Population and Biochemical Properties of Surface Soils

“…Soil samples were dried in air, sieved through 2 mm sieve to remove non-soil particles and then XRF measured (Ulmanu et al, 2011). The Xray fluorescence method is a non-destructive analytical technique, allowing both qualitative and quantitative analysis of heavy metals in soils (Derzi and Naji, 2014) based on the phenomenon of the emission of x-rays by the atoms of a sample when excited by an external source of radiation. This technique can be used for screening the metal contamination in soil with significant accuracy and reduced overall costs.…”