Assessment Of Heavy Metal Contamination In Soil And Air Samples In Selected Sites Around Rawat Industrial Zone, Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Due to growing environmental and health concerns because of industrial activities, heavy metals concentration was investigated in the topsoil and air particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) of Rawat industrial zone, Islamabad, Pakistan. Industries selected were Iron and steel, electric, pharmaceutical, marble, PVC pipes, and flour mills. Anthropogenic activities might lead to higher heavy metal concentrations in soil and air and a decline in environmental quality. Standard sample collection and preparation protocols were used for soil and particulate matter samples for the proposed study. And then heavy metals contamination was assessed in the close vicinity of different industries. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to assess the soil samples for Mn, Ni, Co, As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mg, K, Cd, and Fe. Spatial distribution of heavy metals in soil samples demonstrated the highest concentration of Fe i.e., 2605.98 mg/kg in PVC pipes industry. The igeo index of industrial soil samples revealed Fe and Cd to be the strongest pollutants among the heavy metals in the tested industries. CF index showed that very high contamination of soil was caused by Cd. PM10 concentration was the highest in the industrial air samples i.e., 429.62 µg/m3. Air particulate matter was assessed for the concentration of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn via ICP-OES analysis. Fe had the highest of all concentrations in both PM10 (76.33 µg/m3) and PM2.5 (79.33 µg/m3) samples. The air sample of the marble industry was the most contaminated of all industries due to highest concentrations of metals. The current study can aid in a better understanding of heavy metal contamination attributes in a commonly established manufacturing region, and it would also assist in understanding the impacts of industrial activities in the environmental deterioration of the target area.