ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Rahmani   M. (*1)
Azari   T. (2)
Molla Aghajanzadeh   S. (3)






(*1) Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Mazandaran University, Mazandaran, Iran
(2) Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz , Iran
(3) Department of Watershed management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Babolsar, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Shahid Beheshti Street, Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran. Postal Code: 4741695447.
Phone: +98 (11) 35302401
Fax: +98 (11) 35342161
m.rahmani@umz.ac.ir

Article History

Received:  June  7, 2019
Accepted:  March 12, 2020
ePublished:  March 16, 2020

BRIEF TEXT


Soil contamination with heavy metals from the waste has both direct and indirect impacts on public health.

Heavy metals are naturally present in the ground and water, but if the amount of such elements exceeds the normal level, they may become harmful for living organisms [Abrahim & Parker, 2008]. Heavy metals' participation in various biogeochemical mechanisms and their considerable mobility are influential in the accumulation processes of ecosystems [Ghrefat & Yusuf, 2006]. Heavy metals contamination in forest soil may cause soil structure disorganization, changes in the plants' and trees' growth, and even threatening human health through the food chain [Wong et al, 2002; Yalcin et al, 2007; Anazawa et al, 2004]. Bhuiyana et al evaluated agricultural soil heavy metal contamination using several indices including Enrichment Factor (EF), Geo Accumulation Index (Igeo) and Pollution Load Index (PLI). The results showed the soil is enriched with Titanium, Manganese, Zinc, Lead, Arsenic, Iron, Strontium and Antimony due to mining activities [Bhuiyana et al, 2010].

This study aimed to evaluate the amount of heavy metals' pollution of Tin, Zink, Nickel, Molybdenum, Copper, Cobalt, Manganese and Chrome in the landfill of Babol (Anjilsi forest) using parameters of enrichment factor and geochemical accumulation and by the evaluation of the ecological situation of the studied area's soil.

Research type is not mentioned in the article.

This research is carried out in Babol landfill in Angilsi forest.

40 soil samples were collected from a depth of 0-30 cm from the surface in a systematic method.

Arc GIS software was used to determine the exact location of sampling and an ICP instrument was used to measure the heavy metals' density.

Soil pollution assessment A) Statistical analysis The results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnove test in table3 show heavy metals density and physical and chemical soil parameters in the studied area were distributed normally. The statistical description of heavy metals density and the physical and chemical features of soil samples are presented in table4. Elements' density in the region should be compared to a place with the standard situation so as to determine soil pollution to heavy metals. As there is no standard for soil pollution in Iran, other countries' standards were used in this study. The average density of Iron, Arsenic, Chrome, Nickel and Cobalt was more than the maximum acceptable concentration (mg/kg) according to the Ericson standard (figure2). B) Igeo analysis Geo accumulation index (Igeo) is used to distinguish the natural sources of pollutants from the human ones. According to equation 1, Igeo is calculated for soil samples and data were classified in GIS (table 5). Voronoi zoning map was prepared in Geostatistical Analyst and different contaminants were identified in each station by their source. All white cells in Table 5 have the severity one which means no pollution to the medium pollution and other cells in green has Igeo more than one which means considerable pollution. Equation 1)Igeo=〖log〗_2^[C_n/(1.5B_n )] To determine the source of heavy metals pollutants and distinguish those with natural sources from those with human sources, table 1, table 5 and figure3 were used. C) EF analysis The best way for the human enrichment test is to normalize the metals' concentration to a reference element. Enrichment factor (EF) was used to estimate the concentration of heavy metals and calculate the pollution caused by them. EF was calculated using equation 2 for raw data and classified in GIS according to table 2 which shows the intensity of pollution in each station. All green cells in table 6 have EF equal or greater than one which is considerable in terms of pollution, while the white ones have EF smaller than one which shows a lack of enrichment. Equation 2)F=(Cn/Fe)sample/(Cn/Fe)Background Man-made enrichment was determined for measured heavy metals using the classification of EF index in table 6 and figure 4.

Some researchers including Tanner et al (2000), Singh et al (2005), Yongming et al (2005), Hamzeh et al (2009), Zhao et al (2010), Shayestefar & Rezaei (2011), Yang et al (2012), Lio et al (2015), Behbahanynia & Salmasi (2016) and Atabaki & Lotfi (2018) measured the concentration of heavy metals and their source in different parts of the world. The results of these studies show ground-made, natural and man-made are, respectively, the most important factors increasing the concentration of heavy metals which are consistent with the results of the current study. MacFarlane & Burchett (2000), Keller et al (2001), Keller & Schulin (2003), Loska & Wiechula (2003), Krzystof et al (2004), Khodakarami (2009), Zhang (2009), Taghipour et al (2010), and Shahbazi (2011) evaluated the density of heavy metals in different land uses and their results shows the geological structure as the most influential factor in the concentration of heavy metals. However, human activities such as discharge of municipal and industrial wastewater in rivers, unprincipled landfilling of municipal, industrial, and mining waste in inappropriate sites, transport and municipal activities, improper use of chemical fertilizers in farms, because of the heavy metals used in the structure of Urea, Phosphate and Potassium fertilizers may increase the concentration of such elements in the soil, are of great importance. The mentioned results are consistent with the results of the current study.

Considering the severe pollution of landfill leachate in this site, it is suggested to implement required managerial measures to prevent the spread of pollution and control the severity of pollution in this site. The construction of a drainage channel in the upper part of the landfill can be very useful so as to transfer the landfill leachate to a proper place for refining. Furthermore, coating insulations might be used to prevent leach infiltration into the underground aquifers. It is recommended to compress the southeast of the landfill using clay or Portland cement to reduce the amount of infiltrated rain and subsequently the spread of pollution. Considering the high absorption of heavy metals by tree species (between 2 to 40 times more than other species), such elements may cause weakening or even distinction of plant species. Hence it is recommended to plant resistant species to heavy metals or those with high heavy metals absorption in the site and around the landfill. Moreover, considering the severe pollution in the site it is necessary to provide drinking water through urban tap for lower parts of the landfill (such as Hali Khal village).

There is no limitation reported

According to the normal distribution of heavy metals in soil samples and the evaluation of their average concentration in the site, the concentration of Nickel, Cobalt, Iron, Arsenic and chrome is more than the maximum acceptable amount (mg/kg) in Ericson 2011 standard. The results of Igeo and EF classification shows the majority of samples are in no pollution- medium pollution class. Nickel, Chrome and Tungsten were the most abundant elements. The samples near the landfill were in the severe pollution class. Igeo and EF zoning map analysis using the Voronoi method in GIS shows landfills are the main sources of the pollution of the samples near the landfill and leachate's puddles. The rest of the samples have pollution with the geological and natural source. Such heavy metals may be abundant in the soil naturally because of the geological formation in upper parts. Unprincipled landfilling, however, causes more accumulation of the elements in the soil.

The authors thank the vice presidents of the medical science University of Sari and the agricultural science and natural resources University of Sari for their valuable support.

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TABLES and CHARTS

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