Evaluation of Heavy Metals Pollution in the Soil around a Few Industrial Sites in Wasit Governorate, Iraq
Abstract
A case study was conducted on the potential pollution in the soils surrounding three industrial facilities in Wasit City, Iraq. This includes the Zubaidiya Thermal Power Plant, the Textile Factory in Kut, and the Brick Factories in the Hai region, examining the impact of emissions resulting from incomplete fuel combustion and their liquid waste discharged into the river from these sources on the surrounding areas in terms of heavy metal pollution in the soil, such as titanium (Ti), iron (Fe), gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), bromine (Br), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), molybdenum (Mo), and barium (Ba). Soil samples were collected from distances ranging between 0-500 meters and depths of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm near the pollution source to assess pollution levels based on global soil pollution standards. Comparison samples were also obtained 4 kilometers away from the pollution source at both depths, with three replicates for each site in October and March of 2023. In general, this indicates that industrial sites have an impact on pollution of the environment because the study found that the total concentration of heavy metals in soils affected by residues from these sites was higher than in control soils. When comparing the concentrations of heavy elements in the soil for October samples with the world average according to Kabata 2011, we found that the elements Iron, Gallium, and Rubidium were close to the world average, as well as the element Bromine, except for the first depth in the soil contaminated with the brick factory, where it was higher than the average. As for the elements Titanium, Arsenic, Strontium, Yttrium, and Molybdenum, their concentrations exceeded the world average, whether in the comparison soil or the contaminated soil. As for the elements Zirconium and Barium, they were lower than the world average, despite the fact that the concentrations in the contaminated soil were higher than the control samples, but their concentrations were lower than the average, according to Kabata 2011. As for the March samples, they followed the same trend as the October samples, indicating the extent of the contribution of pollution sources to the increase in concentrations of heavy elements in the soil in particular and the environment in general.