Metal contamination of surface soils of industrial city Sialkot, Pakistan: a multivariate and GIS approach.
In this study concentrations of selected metals viz., Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Ni, Pb and Zn in surface soils of Sialkot city known worldwide for tanneries and pharmaceutical industries were measured to assess the status of urban soil pollution and to identify sources of contamination. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HACA) indicated concentrations of Mg and Ca related to parent rock material, Cd, Co, and Pb with traffic related activities, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn either associated with automobiles activities or industrial pollution and Fe, K and Na related with anthropogenic activities or lithogenous materials. Correlation analyses and principal component analysis based on factor analysis confirmed the results of HACA. Spatial distribution maps exhibited relatively higher concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr and Zn along traffic routes in the city and streams. The results highlighted concentration of Cd, Ni, Cr, Zn, and Pb measured in urban soil exceeded the permissible limit of surface soils and advocated an imperative need for detailed baseline investigations of spatial distribution of heavy metals and other contaminants for the formulation of geochemical database that should be made available to stakeholder involved in monitoring, assessment and conservation of soil contamination for future planning and management of the Sialkot city.
Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. r_n_malik2000@yahoo.co.uk
Riffat Naseem
RN
Malik
Waqar Azeem
WA
Jadoon
Syed Zahoor
SZ
Husain
D002947:Cities; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004345:Drug Industry; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D005843:Geography; D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010154:Pakistan; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013633:Tanning
D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants