Abstract
Characterization of content and source of heavy metals in soils are necessary to establish quality standards on a regional level. In relation to this, two zones, (sampling zone-1) and (sampling zone-2) depending on nature and intensity of wastewater disposal along the peri-urban area of Peshawar, Pakistan were selected. Thirty-six samples of wastewater and topsoil each were collected to determine the content of Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe and Mn, and physico-chemical parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, total solids, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and organic matter. Analytical determinations were performed by atomic absorption spectroscopy after microwave sample digestion in acid solution. Chemometric techniques which include hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and tukey test were applied. Concentrations of physico-chemical properties in wastewater and soil were higher in sampling zone-2. Concentrations of six heavy metals in wastewater and two in soil exceeded permissible limits of World Health Organization (Guidelines for drinking water quality, 4th edition, 2011), European Union (Heavy metals in wastes, European commission on environment. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pdf/heavymetalsreport, 2002). Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped eight heavy metals into two clusters for wastewater and five clusters for soils. Principal component analysis describes four factors possessing Eigenvalues greater than 1.0 and explained the cumulative total variance of 84% with factor 1, having positive loading of anthropogenic metals (Cd, Cu, and Ni). Significant correlation was found between anthropogenic metals like Ni and Cd in water and between Cu and Cr in soil. Further research in other agricultural lands in peri-urban region would improve the basis for proposing such soil quality standards.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alghobar MA, Suresha S (2015) Evaluation of metal accumulation in soil and tomatoes irrigated with sewage water from Mysore city, Karnataka, India. J Saudi Soc Agric Sci. doi:10.1016/j.jssas.2015.02.002
American Public Health Association (APHA) (1985) APHA method 3111, standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington
American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA) (1998) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington
Chaubey S, Patil MK (2015) Correlation study and regression analysis of water quality assessment of Nagpur City, India. Int J Sci Res Publ 5:753–757
Chen Y, Wang C, Wang Z (2005) Residues and source identification of persistent organic pollutants in farmland soils irrigated by effluents from biological treatment plants. Environ Int 31(6):778–783
European Union (EU) (2002) Heavy metals in wastes, European commission on environment. (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pdf/heavymetalsreport)
Fakayode S, Onianwa P (2002) Heavy metal contamination of soil, and bioaccumulation in Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) around Ikeja Industrial Estate, Lagos, Nigeria. Environ Geol 43(1–2):145–150
Hani A, Pazira E, Manshouri M, Kafaky SB, Tali MG (2010) Spatial distribution and mapping of risk elements pollution in agricultural soils of southern Tehran, Iran. Plant Soil Environ 56(6):288–296
Huibers FP, Moscoso O, Durán A, Van Lier JB (2004) The use of wastewater in Cochabamba, Bolivia: a degrading environment. In: Wastewater use in irrigated agriculture, vol 110
Idrees M, Batool S, Hussain Q, Ullah H, Al- Wabel MI, Ahmad M, Kong J (2016) High efficiency remediation of cadmium (Cd2+) from aqueous solution using poultry manure- and farmyard manure-derived biochars. Sep Sci Technol. doi:10.1080/01496395.2016.1205093
Khan S, Cao Q, Zheng YM, Huang YZ, Zhu YG (2008a) Health risks of heavy metals in contaminated soils and food crops irrigated with wastewater in Beijing, China. Environ Pollut 152(3):686–692
Khan I, Ali J, Ullah H (2008b) Heavy metals determination in medicinal plant withania somniferia growing in various areas of Peshawar. J Chem Soc Pak 30(1):69–74
Khan MJ, Jan MT, Ullah F, Khan NU, Arif M, Perveen S, Alam S, Jan AU (2011) The effect of using waste water for tomato. Pak J Bot 43(2):1033–1044
Khan HA, Arif IA, Homaidan AA (2012) Distribution pattern of eight heavy metals in the outer and inner tissues of ten commonly used vegetables. Int J Food Prop 15(6):1212–1219
Nazir R, Khan M, Masab M, Rehman HU, Ur-Rauf N, Shahab S, Ameer N, Sajed M, Ullah M, Rafeeq M, Shaheen Z (2015) Accumulation of Heavy Metals (Ni, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe) in the soil, water and plants and analysis of physico-chemical parameters of soil and water Collected from Tanda Dam Kohat. J Pharm Sci Res 7:89–97
Oliver MA (1997) Soil and human health: a review. Eur J Soil Sci 48:573–592
Perveen S, Samad A, Nazif W, Shah S (2012) Impact of sewage water on vegetables quality with respect to heavy metals in Peshawar Pakistan. Pak J Bot 44(6):1923–1931
Rattan RK, Datta SP, Chhonkar PK, Suribabu K, Singh AK (2005) Long-term impact of irrigation with sewage effluents on heavy metal content in soils, crops and groundwater—a case study. Agric Ecosyst Environ 109(3–4):310–322
Sachan S, Singh SK, Srivastava PC (2007) Buildup of heavy metals in soil-waterplant continuum as influenced by irrigation with contaminated effluent. J Environ Sci Eng 49(4):293–296
Singh KP, Mohan D, Sinha S, Dalwani R (2004) Impact assessment of treated/untreated wastewater toxicants discharged by sewage treatment plants on health, agricultural, and environmental quality in the wastewater disposal area. Chemosphere 55(2):227–255
Singh A, Sharma RK, Agarwal M, Marshall FM (2010) Health risk assessment of heavy metals via dietary intake of foodstuffs from the wastewater irrigated site of a dry tropical area of India. Food Chem Toxicol 48(2):611–619
Ullah H, Khan I (2015) Effects of sewage water irrigation of cabbage to soil geochemical properties and products safety in peri-urban Peshawar, Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess 187:126
Ullah H, Khan I, Ullah I (2011) Impact of sewage contaminated water on soil, vegetables, and underground water of peri-urban Peshawar, Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess 184(10):6411–6421
Ullah H, Khan NU, Ali F, Shah ZA, Ullah Q (2017) Health risk of heavy metals from vegetables irrigated with sewage water in peri-urban of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. Int J Environ Sci Technol. doi:10.1007/s13762-017-1384-1
Vega M, Pardo R, Barrado E, Deban L (1998) Assessment of seasonal and polluting effects on the quality of river water by exploratory data analysis. Water Res 32(12):3581–3592
Wang J, Chen C (2015) The current status of heavy metal pollution and treatment technology development in China. Environ Technol Rev 4(1):39–53
World Health Organization (WHO) (2011) Guidelines for drinking water quality. 4th edn. WHO press-edition, Geneva
Yeomans J, Bremner JM (1988) A rapid and precise method for routine determination of organic carbon in soil 1. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 19(13):1467–1476
Zafar S, Khan A, Ullah H, Sohail KM, Khan I, Hameed A, Rehman S, Yasmeen G (2017) Assessing impact of effluent discharge on irrigation water quality in southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess. doi:10.1007/s10661-017-5868-8
Zakir SN, Ihsanullah I, Shah MT, Iqbal Z (2009) Determination of major and trace elements in soil of Peshawar Basin. J Chem Soc Pak 31:246–256
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Centralized Resource Laboratory, University of Peshawar for providing research facilities for carrying out this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Editorial responsibility: J. Aravind.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ullah, H., Khan, N.U., Ali, F. et al. Chemometric evaluation of heavy metals distribution in wastewater irrigated soil of peri-urban area. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 15, 2519–2530 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1620-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1620-8