Pollution indices as useful tools for the comprehensive evaluation of the degree of soil contamination–A review

Kowalska, Joanna Beata; Mazurek, Ryszard; Gąsiorek, Michał; Zaleski, Tomasz

doi:10.1007/s10653-018-0106-z

Cited by 635 publications

(406 citation statements)

References 84 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

393

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Currently, the most commonly used are the index of geoacumulation, contamination factor, ecological risk factor, ecological risk index, degree of contamination, pollution load index, potential ecological risk index, and metal enrichment factor, as shown by numerous studies [17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. A detailed review of the pollution indices is given in Kowalska et al [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Quality and Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment of Iron Ore Mines in Nizna Slana (Slovakia)

Fazekašová

Fazekaš

2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mining activities have resulted in the existence of dumps, which generally present a perpetual danger of moving and transforming toxic elements. The experimental study was carried out in Nizna Slana (Slovakia) where the main source of emission was the iron-ore mining–processing factory focused on siderite mining. Siderit from Nizna Slana is highly ferrous with an increased level of the Mn content. Among the undesirable impurities on the deposit are mainly As, S, Pb, and Zn. According to the environmental regionalization of the Slovak Republic, the surveyed area represents a region with a slightly disturbed environment. The BIOLOG® Eco plates method was used for ecotoxicological evaluation of contaminated soils, where soil enzymes (acidic and alkaline phosphatase and urease) were also monitored in soils and soil contamination was evaluated according to Hakanson (1980). Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the content of Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, As, Fe, Mn, and Mg is above the toxicity level. As, Fe, Mn, and Mg are the most serious pollutants in the area under investigation, and their pronounced excess indicates contamination, where harmfulness and toxicity can be expected. Based on the evaluation of the contamination factor and the degree of contamination, the soils in the emission field of old mining works are very highly to slightly contaminated with heavy metals. The experimental results in the real environment showed that the activity of soil enzymes showed considerable differences, and, regarding the functional diversity of soil microorganisms, we have not seen significant spatial variability.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Quality and Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment of Iron Ore Mines in Nizna Slana (Slovakia)

Fazekašová

Fazekaš

2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The calculations of most of these indices require background values of the elements. In this study, background concentrations used to compute these indices were taken from literature as 7.8, 19, 0.1, 35, 514, 35, 33 and 37.5 mg/kg for As, Pb, Cd, Cu, Mn, Fe, Ni and Cr respectively [1,6,11,[31][32][33][34], and were kept lower than the threshold limits [35].…”

Section: Surface Sediment Contamination Level Of the Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

Pollution Loads and Ecological Risk Assessment of Metals and a Metalloid in the Surface Sediment of Keenjhar Lake, Pakistan

Imran¹,

Ullah²,

Shaikh³

2020

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to analyze the concentrations of heavy metals and a metalloid in the surface sediments of Keenjhar Lake, Sindh, Pakistan that pose a risk to the lake ecosystem. The concentrations and ecological risks associated with eight metals and a metalloid (As, Pb, Cd, Cu, Mn, Fe, Ni, Hg, and Cr) from surface sediments of the lake, was evaluated at 10 sampling locations. The overall 95 th percentile concentrations of trace elements were observed as As (29.1), Pb (7.6), Cd (0.68), Cu (9.3), Mn (56.43), Fe (352.3), Ni (10.36), and Cr (29.61) mg/kg. Metal wise as well as aggregated levels of contamination were studied. It was observed that all metals except Hg were detected in the lake sediment. Based on the geo-accumulation index and enrichment factor, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Pb showed low pollution levels, while As, Cd, and Fe showed a high degree of contamination. Based on the 95 th percentile, the average values of EF for As, Cd and Fe were observed as 274%, 300% and 907% respectively. Pollution Load Index reflected metals and metalloid contamination near the warning threshold, with an average value of 0.825. The Nemerow integrated pollution index (range 6.79-7.59, i.e., >3) and degree of contamination (range 12-24) suggested strong pollution levels. According to the findings of the ecological risk index, Cd showed high ecological risk (between 160-320) at all sampling sites, and potential ecological risk index was at moderate risk level (between 150-300) at all locations. Multivariate analysis of the metals and a metalloid classified as As, Cd, and Fe in one group with the remaining metals in another group show that metals of each group originate from the same source.

show abstract

“…5b). This variation in results may be due to the fact that Nemerow pollution index is basically used for assessing the overall quality of soil which does not take into account of the weighing factors [39].…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of potentially toxic elements’ contamination in surface soils of Kulsi River Basin in North East India

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The assessment of potentially toxic elements' contamination in surface soils of Kulsi River Basin in North East India has been studied based on the analysis of 50 soil samples collected from the basin. The average concentrations of Co (2.30 mg/kg), Ni (7.26 mg/kg), Pb (9.41 mg/kg), and Zn (22.7 mg/kg) surpassed the background levels prescribed for sedimentary rocks which indicated anthropogenic contribution of these metals. The average values of enrichment factors for different elements under study followed the order as Co > Ni > Zn > Pb > As > Fe > Cr. Results of multi-element indices revealed significant contamination at many sites; however, computed values for potential ecological risk index indicated only low ecological risk at all the sampling sites. The contribution of individual toxic elements toward the potential ecological risk followed the order as Co > Ni > As > Pb > Zn > Cr. The study recommends that suitable measures need to be taken for checking any further contamination in the area.

show abstract

Pollution indices as useful tools for the comprehensive evaluation of the degree of soil contamination–A review

Cited by 635 publications

References 84 publications

Soil Quality and Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment of Iron Ore Mines in Nizna Slana (Slovakia)

Soil Quality and Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment of Iron Ore Mines in Nizna Slana (Slovakia)

Pollution Loads and Ecological Risk Assessment of Metals and a Metalloid in the Surface Sediment of Keenjhar Lake, Pakistan

Assessment of potentially toxic elements’ contamination in surface soils of Kulsi River Basin in North East India

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About