Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Soils Surrounding the Zanjan Zinc Town by Multivariate Statistical Techniques

آب و خاک

Article 7, Volume 29, Issue 3, July 2015, Pages 627-637   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jsw.v0i0.28779

Authors

M.A. Delavar^* ; Y. Safari

University of Zanjan

Abstract

Introduction: The accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in the soil is of increasing concern due to food safety issues, potential health risks, and the detrimental effects on soil ecosystems. HMs may be considered as the most important soil pollutants, because they are not biodegradable and their physical movement through the soil profile is relatively limited. Therefore, root uptake process may provide a big chance for these pollutants to transfer from the surface soil to natural and cultivated plants, which may eventually steer them to human bodies. The general behavior of HMs in the environment, especially their bioavailability in the soil, is influenced by their origin. Hence, source apportionment of HMs may provide some essential information for better management of polluted soils to restrict the HMs entrance to the human food chain. This paper explores the applicability of multivariate statistical techniques in the identification of probable sources that can control the concentration and distribution of selected HMs in the soils surrounding the Zanjan Zinc Specialized Industrial Town (briefly Zinc Town).
Materials and Methods: The area under investigation has a size of approximately 4000 ha.It is located around the Zinc Town, Zanjan province. A regular grid sampling pattern with an interval of 500 meters was applied to identify the sample location, and 184 topsoil samples (0-10 cm) were collected. The soil samples were air-dried and sieved through a 2 mm polyethylene sieve and then, were digested using HNO3. The total concentrations of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) in the soil solutions were determined via Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Data were statistically analyzed using the SPSS software version 17.0 for Windows. Correlation Matrix (CM), Principal Component Analyses (PCA) and Factor Analyses (FA) techniques were performed in order to identify the probable sources of HMs in the studied soils.
Results and Discussion: Comparing the measured HMs contents with their normal range in uncontaminated soils demonstrated the contamination of soils by Pb, Zn and Cd, with average concentrations of 152.8, 294.2 and 5.6 mg kg-1, respectively,whereas Ni and Cu did not show any pollution risk. The total concentration of Zn, Pb and Cd in the soil showed a great degree of variability, indicated by large coefficients of variation (CV) from 228.5 % of Cd to 354.8 % ofPb. These elevated CVs may indicate that these elements’ distribution in the studied area is influenced by an anthropogenic source. In contrast, the relatively low calculated CVs for Ni and Cu may imply that natural sources are responsible for these elements’ distribution in the studied soils. Correlation matrix (CM) analysis revealed high correlation coefficients between Zn-Cd and Ni-Cu, indicating the influence of the same factors in controlling their distribution. On the other hand, Pb contents showed low correlation with Ni and Cu values, whereas its correlation with Zn and Cd was relatively high. Therefore, it seems that Pb distribution in the studied soils is more influenced by the factor which controls the Zn and Cd distribution, rather than another factor that is responsible for accumulation of Ni and Cu in the studied soils. According to the PCA analysis, two significant components were extracted explaining about 84% of total variance. FA analysis showed that studied variables have a relatively high communality with two extracted principal components, indicating that almost all of the measured total variation can be efficiently explained by the extracted principals. Industrial activities in the Zinc Town seem to be the main factor which caused the high concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in the soil environment in this area; whereas Ni and Cu were associated with the natural sources including geology of the studied area (parental material’s factor). The obtained results from this study coincide with the prior studies indicating that multivariate statistics is a powerful technique for identification of probable sources of HMs in the soil.
Conclusions: The studied soils are classified as polluted soils with Zn, Pb and Cd,whereas Ni and Cu did not show any pollution risk. PCA and correlation analyses between HMs indicated that HM pollution in the studied area may originate from natural and anthropogenic factors. It can be concluded that Zinc Town controls the distribution of Zn, Pb and Cd in the surrounding soils, but Ni and Cu distribution in the studied area is mainly influenced by natural factors.Totally, industrial activities related to Zn production caused simultaneous entrance of several HMs to the adjacent soils and led to degradation of the lands in the studied area.

Keywords

Correlation matrix; Factor analyses; Heavy metals; Soil pollution; Zanjan

References

1- Abdollahi S., Delavar M.A. and Shekari P. 2013. Spatial Distribution Mapping of Pb, Zn and Cd and Soil Pollution Assessment in Anguran Area of Zanjan Province. Journal of Water and Soil, 26(6): 1410-1420. (in Persian with English abstract)

2- Ali H., Khan E. and Sajad M.A. 2013. Phytoremediation of heavy metals-Concepts and applications. Chemosphere, 91:869-881.

3- Bahmani B., Delavar M.A. and Abdollahi S. 2012. Spatial distribution of zinc (Zn) in topsoil in the industrial areas of the special Zinc town Zanjan. Proceeding of the 6th Conference and Exhibition on Environmental Engineering (CELCO91), 17-21 Nov.2012, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. (in Persian)

4- Cai L., Xu Zh., Ren M., Guo Q., Hu X., Hu G., Wan H. and Peng P. 2012. Source identification of eight hazardous heavy metals in agricultural soils of Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 78: 2–8.

5- Castellano M., Ruiz-Filippi G., Gonzalez W., Roca E. and Lema J.M. 2007. Selection of variables using factorial discriminant analysis for the state identification of an anaerobic UASB–UAF hybrid pilot plant, fed with winery effluents. Water Science and Technology, 56: 139-145.

6- Chen T., Liu X., Li X., Zhao K., Zhang J., Xu J., Shi J. and Dahlgren R.A. 2009. Heavy metal sources identification and sampling uncertainty analysis in a field-scale vegetable soil of Hangzhou, China. Environmental Pollution, 157: 1003–1010.

7- Chen T., Liu X., Zhu M., Zhao K., Wu J., Xu J. and Huang P. 2008. Identification of trace element sources and associated risk assessment in vegetable soils of the urban–rural transitional area of Hangzhou, China. Environmental Pollution, 151: 67–78.

8- Chen T., Wong J., Zhou H., and Wong M. 1997. Assessment of trace metal distribution and contamination in surface soils of Hong Kong. Environmental Pollution, 96: 61–68.

9- Chen X., Lu X., and Yang G. 2012. Sources identification of heavy metals in urban topsoil from inside the Xi'an Second Ringroad, NW China using multivariate statistical methods. Catena, 98: 73–78.

10- Chlopecka A., 1993. Forms of trace metals from inorganic sources in soils and amounts found in spring barley. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 69: 127-134.

11- Dankoub Z., Ayoubi S., Khademi H. and Lu S.G. 2012. Spatial distribution of magnetic properties and selected heavy metals in calcareous soils as affected by land use in the Isfahan region, Central Iran. Pedosphere, 22(1): 33–47.

12- Doelsch E., Macary H.S. and Kerchove V.V. 2006. Sources of very high heavy metal content in soils of volcanic island (La Re´union). Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 88: 194– 197.

13- Facchinelli A., Sacchi E. and Mallen L. 2001. Multivariate statistical and GIS-based approach to identify heavy metal sources in soils. Environmental Pollution, 114: 313–324.

14- Farahmand kia Z., Mehrasbi M.R., Ekhawatju M.S., Hasanalizadeh A., and Ramezanzadeh Z. 2010. Study of Heavy Metals in the Atmospheric Deposition in Zanjan, Iran. Iran. Journal Health & Environment, 2(4):240-249. (in Persian with English abstract)

15- Franco-Uria A., Lopez-Mateo C., Roca E. and Fernandez-Marcos M.L. 2009. Source identification of heavy metals in pastureland by multivariate analysis in NW Spain. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 165: 1008–1015.

16- Fu F. and Wang Q. 2011. Removal of heavy metal ions from wastewaters: A review. Journal of Environmental Management, 92: 407-418.

17- Garcia R., Maiz I. and Millan E. 1996. Heavy metal contamination analysis of roadsoils and grasses form Gipuzkoa (Spain). Environmental Technology, 17: 763–770.

18- Giusquiani P.L., Pagliai M., Businelli D. and Benetti A. 1995. Urban waste compost effect on physical, chemical and biological soil properties. Journal of Environmental Quality, 24: 172-184.

19- Han Y.M., Du P.X., Cao J.J. and Posmentier E.S. 2006. Multivariate analysis of heavy metal contamination in urban dusts of Xi’an, Central China. Science of the Total Environment, 355(1-3): 176-186.

20- Kabata-Pendias A. 2010. Trace Elements in Soils and Plants. CRC press, Boka Raton.

21- Kabata-Pendias A. and Pendias H. 1999. Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements. Wyd, Nauk PWN. Warsaw.

22- Kribek B., Majer V., Veselovsky F. and Nyambe I. 2010. Discrimination of lithogenic and anthropogenic sources of metals and sulphur in soil of the central-northern part of the Zambia Copperbelt Minig District: A topsoil vs. subsurface soil concept. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 104: 69–86.

23- Lewin V.H. and Beckett P.H.T. 1980. Monitoring heavy metal accumulation in agricultural soils treated with sewage sludge. Effluent and Water Treatment Journal, 20 (5) 217-221.

24- Lu X.W., Wang L.J., Li L.Y., Lei K., Huang L. and Kang D. 2010. Multivariate statistical analysis of heavy metals in street dust of Baoji, NW China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 173: 744-749.

25- Mansourfar K. 2011. Statistical methods, Tehran University Press, Tehran, Iran. (in Persian)

26- Mico C., Recatala L., Peris, M. and Sanchez J. 2006. Assessing heavy metal sources in agricultural soils of an European Mediterranean area by multivariate analysis. Chemosphere, 65: 863-872.

27- Naeimi Marandi S., Ayoubi S. and Azimzadeh B. 2013. Use of Multivariate Statistics and Geostatistics to Differentiate the Lithologic and Anthropogenic Sources of some Heavy Metals in Zobahan Industrial District, Isfahan Province .Journal of Water and Soil, 27(3): 560-596. (in Persian with English abstract)

28- Nicholson F.A., Smith S.R., Alloway B.J., Carlton-Simith C.B. and Chambers J. 2003. An inventory of heavy metal input to agricultural soil in England and Wales. Science of the Total Environment, 311: 205–219.

29- Parizanganeh A., Hajisoltani P. and Zamani A. 2010. Assessment of heavy metal pollution in surficial soils surrounding Zinc Industrial Complex in Zanjan-Iran. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 2: 162–166.

30- Soil Survey Staff. 1996. Soil survey laboratory methods manual. Report No. 42, USDA, NRCS, NCSS, USA.

31- Sparks G.L. 2003. Environmental Soil Chemistry. Academic Press, San Diego, California.

32- Sposito, G., Lund, L.J., and A.C. Chang. 1982. Trace metal chemistry in arid zone field soils amended with sewage sludge: I. Fractionation of Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in solid phases. Soil Science Society of American Journal, 46: 260-264.

33- Srivastava N.K. and Majumder C.B. 2008. Novel biofiltration methods for the treatment of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 151: 1-8.

34- Sun Ch., Liu J., Wang Y., Sun L. and Yu H. 2013. Multivariate and geostatistical analyses of the spatial distribution and sources of heavy metals in agricultural soil in Dehui, Northeast China. Chemosphere, 92: 517–523.

35- Taghipour M., Ayoubi SH. and Khademi H. 2010.Spatial variability of total Ni and Cu concentration in surface soils surrounding the Hamadan city using geostatistic technique. Journal of Water and Soil Conservation, Vol. 17(2):69-87. (in Persian with English abstract)

36- Tahri M., Benyaich F., Bounakhla M., Bilal E., Gruffat J.J., Moutte J. and Garcia D. 2005. Multivariate analysis of heavy metal contents in soils. Sediments and water in the region of Meknes (central Morocco). Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 102: 405–417.

37- Tume P., Bech J., Tume L., Bech J., Reverter F., Longan L. and Cedonya P. 2008. Concentrations and distributions of Ba, Cr, Sr, V, Al and Fe in Torrelles soil profiles (Catalonia, Spain). Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 96: 94-105.

38- Zhang C. 2006. Using multivariate analysis and GIS to identify pollutants and their spatial patterns in urban soils in Galway, Ireland. Environmental Pollution, 142: 501–511.