Heavy Metals in Soils Following 50 Years of Sewage Sludge Application

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination has increasingly become an environmental problem. While it is found in soils naturally through processes of weathering of parent materials, it is the anthropogenic activities that create the greatest threat. A study was conducted to investigate the vertical distribution of heavy metals in soils after over 50 years of sewage sludge application. Soil samples were collected at 10 cm intervals to a depth of 50 cm from five treated transects and a control. The soils were analyzed for zinc, copper, lead, nickel, cadmium, arsenic and chromium. The concentration of all the metals was higher in the treated soils compared to the control. The results were compared with two parameters: the total maximum thresholds (TMT) and maximum permissible limits (MPL). The TMT is the concentration of the metal beyond which the risk to the environment is unacceptable, while MPL is the concentration beyond which further waste disposal is prohibited. Zinc, chromium, lead and cadmium were above maximum permissible limits, in treated soils. High concentrations of all the metals, including Pb, and organic carbon were measured down to 40–50 cm depth. Only Cd (and Pb only in transect 2) was above the maximum permissible limits beyond the 20–30 cm depth.