The effect of air pollution on the concentration of heavy metals in the soil of Mellat Park

Subject Areas : environmental management

Abdolreza Karbassi ¹ , Faramarz Moatar ² , Masood Monavari ³ , Saiedeh Sadat Mosayebi ^{4 *}

1 - Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran
2 - Faculty of Energy and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University
3 - Faculty of Energy and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University
4 - Faculty of Energy and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University

Received: 2008-02-09 Accepted : 2008-03-16 Published : 2009-12-22

Keywords: Soil pollution, Heavy metal, biological accessibility, cluster analysis,

Abstract :

Soil can register environmental pollution in itself, so the pollution of an area can be studied through the chemical analysis of its soil. In the present study, the soil ofMellatParkinTehranwas sampled. In total, 15 soil samples were collected. Using laboratory methods, the mean concentration of Pb, Zn, and Ni were obtained to be 145, 33, and 62 mg/kg, respectively. The results show that the concentration of Pb is much higher than the other elements in the area. When compared with its concentration in the crust of earth, the concentration of Pb inMellatParkproved to be higher; a finding which is due to the air pollution of the area. In the rest of the study, the biological accessibility of the elements (Pb, Zn, Ni) was determined. The amount of biological accessibility of various heavy metals in the soil of the studied area is as follows: Pb (55mg/kg) > Ni (37mg/kg) > Zn (16mg/kg) Based on cluster analysis, lead cannot have an organic origin because a low similarity quotient was established between organic elements and this metal.