Environmental impact assessment of soil pollution by selected heavy metals in and around the state company for batteries industry at Al-Waziriya

Dissertant

al-Mishlab, Muna Aziz Rai

Thesis advisor

al-Ubaydi, Abd al-Hamid Muhammad Jawad
al-Qaysi, Mahmud Rashid

University

University of Technology

Faculty

-

Department

Department of Building and Construction Engineering

University Country

Iraq

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2012

English Abstract

This study displays the results of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of soil pollution by some heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in and around the state company of batteries industry at Al-Waziriya.

The analysis is preformed because of the significant increase of their concentrations in soil in the recent years beside to their negative impact on the environment and humans.

A total of 100 soil samples arising from 100 sampling points were taken from the topsoil, distributed throughout the Industrial area in Al- Waziriya, and in the residential area around it in Baghdad city.

Also a 15 samples were taken from 5 locations inside and outside the Babil1 and Babil2 factories at three different depths (top soil ,50 and 100 cm) in order to examine metals content within depth and to estimate the environmental factors controlling their distribution in soil including pH function.

Moreover, four samples of ground water were taken from four wells in the same region to determine these metals concentration in the groundwater.

Sampling points were classified in the four zones based on the activity found in the region (industrial and residential) to give more specific results in the terms of metals mean concentration, geo-accumulation index Igeo, potential ecological index Ri and enrichment factor EF calculations.

The samples data shows that the mean concentration of metals (total fractions for the whole area) are significantly higher than their allowable limits (Cd=11.4, Cu=143.3, Pb=3291.3 and Zn=195.2 mg/kg).

GIS concentration maps have been prepared in order to correlate the presence of metals within the region under study, these maps show a clear relationship between human activities and metal concentration gradients, with peaks corresponding to the industrial facilities, hot-spot areas were identified for the examined metals concentration in soil.

In terms of geoaccumulation index (Igeo) for the four metals within the studied area shows a sequence of Pb>Cd>Cu>Zn.

This means that the area is strongly polluted with Pb and Cd and moderately polluted with Cu and can be considered unpolluted with Zn based on the increasing numerical value of the index (Igeo) into seven contamination classes.

The region is suffering very high potential ecological risk for Ri index ≥ 600 particularly for Cd and Pb and it has a low potential ecological risk for Cu and Zn, based on the increasing numerical value of the index (Ri) into five classes.

In addition to being significant enrichment with Cu and Pb, the study area has very high enrichment for Cd (EF= 20-40), but a good fixation that it has depletion to minimal enrichment for Zn content.

This suggests that Cd, Cu and Pb are from anthropogenic and the soils have been contaminated by these metals in the recent years.

The difference in EF values may be due to the difference in the magnitude of input for each metal in the soil and/or the difference in the removal rate of each metal from the soil.

The results indicate that the ground water wellbeing from pollution in the four wells for both Cu and Zn which were presented in concentrations less than WHO (World Health Organization) standards.

But unfortunately the concentration of Cd and Pb signified ground water pollution with a concentration, more than WHO standards, ranging from (0.0082-0.0144 mg/L) and (0.0996-0.117 mg/L) respectively in all wells location.

Main Subjects

Earth Sciences, Water and Environment

Topics

• Soil pollution
• Heavy minerals
• Iraq
• Environmental aspects

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-419625