Abstract
The present study focuses on the heavy metal translocation and its potential impact on soil contamination near to the industrial effluents discharge channel. Metal concentrations in contaminated soil are considerably higher than background levels and decreases with increasing depth and distance from effluent channel. A significant correlation between heavy metals and soil physical factor was observed in both vertical and lateral direction. The enrichment of heavy metals in vertical direction are Fe > Cr > Mn > Cd > Cu > Pb > Zn > Ni whereas in lateral direction Fe > Cr > Mn > Pb > Cu > Zn > Ni > Cd. Concentration factor (CF) was very high for Fe and Cr compared to other metals. Pollution Load Index (PLI) of soil samples shows highest metal accumulation at surface soil, nearest to wastewater channel. Fe, Cr, Mn and Zn were found to be present in greater amounts in comparison to Pb, Cu, Cd and Ni. The results indicate that heavy metal concentration in surrounding soil is highly influenced by discharge of untreated effluents from sponge iron industries which is expected to increase with time due to geoaccumulation.
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