title: Spatial distribution and source identification of trace elements in topsoil from heavily industrialized region, Aliaga, Turkey.
abstract: Topsoil samples (n = 40) were collected from a heavily industrialized region in Turkey. The region includes several scrap processing iron-steel plants with electric arc furnaces (EAFs), a petroleum refinery, a petrochemical complex, steel rolling mills, a natural gas-fired power plant, ship-breaking yards and very dense transportation activities. The region has undergone a rapid transition from an agricultural region to a heavily industrialized region in the last three decades. Collected soil samples were analyzed for 48 trace elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The elemental distribution pattern in the region indicated that Nemrut area with dense iron-steel production activities was a hotspot for elemental pollution. In addition to crustal elements, concentrations of anthropogenic trace elements (i.e., Fe, Zn, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cd, Cr and Mo) were very high in the area influencing many parts of the region. Elemental compositions of fugitive sources polluting the soil (i.e., paved and unpaved roads, slag piles, EAFs filter dust piles and coal piles) were also determined. The methods (enrichment factors [EFs] and the index of geoaccumulation [Igeo]) used for determination of pollution status of soil showed that Cr, Ag, Zn, As and Pb were the strongly contaminating elements for the region. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly indicated that anthropogenic sources (steel production, refinery and petrochemical processes and traffic) were important sources in this region.
authors.affiliation: Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 13699-5708, USA, melik.kara@deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Melik
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Yetkin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dumanoğlu
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Altıok
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Elbir
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Odabası
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayram
mesh_terms: D003031:Coal / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007221:Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011210:Power Plants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D003031:Coal; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014131:Trace Elements