Total and available heavy metal concentrations in soils of the Thriassio plain (Greece) and assessment of soil pollution indexes

Abstract

The Thriassio plain is located 25 km west of Athens city, the capital of Greece. Two major towns (Elefsina and Aspropyrgos), heavy industry plants, medium to large-scale manufacturing, logistics plants, and agriculture comprise the main land uses of the studied area. The aim of the present study was to measure the total and available concentrations of Cr, Zn, Ni, Pb, Co, Mn, Ba, Cu, and Fe in the top soils of the plain, and to asses soil contamination by these metals by using the geoaccumulation index (I geo), the enrichment factor (EF), and the availability ratio (AR) as soil pollution indexes. Soil samples were collected from 90 sampling sites, and aqua regia and DTPA extractions were carried out to determine total and available metal forms, respectively. Median total Cr, Zn, Ni, Pb, Co, Mn, Ba, Cu, and Fe concentrations were 78, 155, 81, 112, 24, 321, 834, 38, and 16 × 10(3) mg kg(-1), respectively. The available fractions showed much lower values with medians of 0.4, 5.6, 1.7, 6.9, 0.8, 5.7, 19.8, 2.1, and 2.9 mg kg(-1). Though median total metal concentrations are not considered as particularly high, the I geo and the EF values indicate moderate to heavy soil enrichment. For certain metals such as Cr, Ni, Cu, and Ba, the different distribution patterns between the EFs and the ARs suggest different origin of the total and the available metal forms. The evaluation of the EF and AR data sets for the soils of the two towns further supports the argument that the EFs can well demonstrate the long-term history of soil pollution and that the ARs can adequately portray the recent history of soil pollution.

Assessment of groundwater pollution in relation to heavy metals of the alluvial aquifer of Thriasion Plain (NW Attica)

“…causing air, soil and groundwater pollution. Soil studies, which have been conducted in the area of Thriasion plain, have recorded high loads of heavy metals in soil horizons resulting in surface-and groundwater pollution by mobilizing them (Massas et al, 2013). Previous hydrogeological investigations in the study area have shown intense salinization of groundwater, in both coastal and inland region, where the front of seawater intrusion is detected in about 8.5 km away from the coast.…”

Short-term phytoremediation effect of sugarcane for contaminated farmland on heavy metal accumulation ability along the Huanjiang River in Guangxi, China

“…Different fractions of heavy metal in the soils have distinct availabilities [20,21]. Several differences were found among the speciation distributions of the different heavy metals, and the percentages of the different heavy metal fractions in the sugarcane soils are shown in Fig.…”

“…Significant changes in the heavy metal concentration were mainly found on the surface layer, where amendments were applied and roots grew. However, the solubility and bioavailability of trace elements can be more important in remediation studies than the total or pseudo-total concentrations of these elements in the contaminated sugarcane soil, because they represent the most labile fractions subject to leaching as well as uptake by plant and microorganisms [20,21].…”

“…A well-known BCR method of sequential extraction procedure was used to assess the relative mobility and distribution of the trace elements in soil [20,21]. The available heavy metal forms in the contaminated sugarcane soil before and after phytoremediation are shown in Table 2.…”

Heavy Metals in Soil and Sugarcane Accumulation in Agricultural Area along Huanjiang River in Guangxi, China

“…He soil contamination of heavy metals is now a worldwide environmental issue (alloway 1990;Bacon et al 2005;ettler et al 2004;ioannis et al 2013;Saba et al 2015), and this problem is especially severe in many developing countries (Wei et al 2010;Yaylal et al 2011;Mireles et al 2012;hu et al 2013;Fujimori et al 2014). heavy metal pollution can cause soil quality deterioration, as well as a reduction in crop yield and agricultural products' quality, which negatively affects the ecosystem and lives of animals and humans (nagajyoti et al 2010;Sardar et al 2010;Takashi et al 2014;anastasis et al 2014).…”