Journal
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION
Volume 233, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
SPRINGER INT PUBL AG
DOI: 10.1007/s11270-021-05444-1
Keywords
Enrichment factor; Geo-accumulation index; Heavy metal toxicity; Single pollution index; Soil pollution
Funding
- Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development, and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (RCA RO), South Korea
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The contamination of trace elements in urban soils, especially in the surface soil of the Kathmandu Valley, poses a significant environmental and health concern. The concentration of highly toxic heavy metals such as Cd, As, Pb, and Zn was found to be elevated, indicating strong to moderate contamination. The study highlights the importance of understanding soil pollution and its impacts on the environment and human health.
Trace elements occur naturally in rocks and soils, but increasingly higher quantities of elements are being released into the environment by anthropogenic activities. In particular, urban soils are marked with elevated levels of trace elements due to vehicular emissions, industrial disposals, urban waste, chemical fertilizers, and construction materials. This study reports the concentration of twenty elements including highly toxic heavy metals (Mg, Al, P, Ca, Fe, K, Si, Na, S, Ti, V, Se, Cr, Cu, Ni, Mn, As, Pb, Zn, and Cd) in the surface soil (0-20 cm) of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Three soil pollution indices (geo-accumulation index, single pollution index, and enrichment factor) were employed to determine the severity of trace element contamination. Our results suggested that the studied sites are under strong to moderate contamination in the order of Cd > As > Pb > Zn > Cr > Mn > Ni > Cu. We observed a high concentration of Pb, Zn, As, and Cd in the surface soil of the Kathmandu Valley mainly due to anthropogenic activities. The concentration of As and Cd was found several times higher than the global average background value and a deficient amount of P, S, and Mn was observed.
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