Abstract
The cement industry is considered as a major source of heavy metals pollution in topsoil. This study aims at measuring the heavy metal contamination level in the vicinity of Shiraz cement factory, and assessing the ecological and environmental risks associated with the factory's activities in the surrounding topsoil. To do so, 10 samples of soil were taken from around the Shiraz cement factory at the depth of 0-10 cm and the concentration of some heavy metals including Al, Cd, Ni, and Pb was measured. Enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation (Igeo), and pollution load (PLI) indices were used to assess the ecological risk of heavy metals.Based on the results, the mean concentration of Al, Ni, Cd, and Pb was 6,937.14, 88.09, 1.96, and 30.74 mg/kg, respectively. The EF results showed that due to anthropogenic activities, the Ni, Pb, and Cd element has moderate, severe, and very severe enrichment in the study area, respectively. The Igeo result for Al, Ni, Pb, and Cd was -0.82, -0.17, 0.16, and 0.68, respectively, which indicates non- to slightly pollution of these heavy metals in this region. The mean PLI in the study area was 1.4 indicating the low to medium pollution of heavy metal. The results of this study can be useful in determining and investigating the environmental effects of Shiraz cement factory.
Publisher
Korean Society of Environmental Engineering
Subject
Environmental Engineering