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Assessment of heavy metal contamination and its sources in urban soils of district Hyderabad, Pakistan using GIS and multivariate analysis

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Abstract

Urban soil contamination with heavy metals is an indispensable phenomenon with grave implications on environmental and public health. The status and contamination sources of eight heavy metals were evaluated in urban soils of district Hyderabad, Pakistan through spatial variability mapping, using geographic information system (GIS) and multivariate analysis. The study involved 415 samples collected from the urban surface (1–25 cm depth) soils of district Hyderabad, Pakistan, using 1 × 1 km grid (for densely populated and industrial areas) or 2 × 2 km grid (from areas with buildings, roads, and other structures). The samples were properly processed in the laboratory and analysed on inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The metal clustering, correlation, and principal component analysis (PCA) suggested two groups of elements under study, the first including Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn and the second containing As, Mn and Cr. Higher values and relative standard deviation (RSD) advocated the anthropogenic origin of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn and the natural abundance of As, Mn and Cr. The histograms and box-plots of Cd, Ni and Pb were also found abnormally distributed. Moreover, pollution index (PI) of Cd and Pb was > 1.0, i.e. 1.390 and 1.135, respectively. The GIS-based spatial variability geochemical maps, developed through inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation technique, highlighted the hotspots of metal contamination from various environmental sources, like, the highest concentration of Zn (125.1 mg kg−1) and Pb (76.4 mg kg−1) was found in city centre which suggested traffic emission mostly from the vehicle tires as main contamination source. The second highest concentration of Pb was observed in the surface soil associated with the Phulleli canal, passes through the Hyderabad city, which is under the threat of waste material deposited because of anthropogenic and industrial activities. In case of Ni, three hotspots were observed including the industrial area of Hyderabad, the city centre and the Phulleli canal with the average concentration of 57.0 mg kg−1. The single potential ecological risk (PER) index suggested moderate and considerable PER only in case of Cd with mean and highest values of 41.71 and 142.09, respectively. In all samples, Cd posed 27.70% moderate PER and 4.58% considerable PER. The integrated PER index of all elements suggested that majority (95%) of samples had low PER with a risk index of < 150 low PER, while 5% samples had moderate PER with a risk index of 151–185. The spatial variability geochemical maps were developed, highlighting the integrated PER of heavy metal in Hyderabad, Pakistan, can be used by the government, policy makers, stakeholders for future planning and R&D activities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all who assisted in conducting this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan

    R. K. Bux & A. R. Solangi

  2. Department of Chemistry, Government College University, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

    S. I. Haider

  3. Institute of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

    M. Batool

  4. Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan

    Z. Shah

  5. School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Xiyuan Ave, P.O. Box 611731, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    H. Karimi-Maleh

  6. Department of Chemical Engineering, Quchan University of Technology, 9477177870, Quchan, Iran

    H. Karimi-Maleh

  7. Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa

    H. Karimi-Maleh

  8. Sen Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Dumlupinar University, 43100, Kütahya, Turkey

    F. Sen

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  1. R. K. Bux
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  2. S. I. Haider
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  3. M. Batool
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  4. A. R. Solangi
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  5. Z. Shah
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  6. H. Karimi-Maleh
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  7. F. Sen
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Correspondence to A. R. Solangi.

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Bux, R.K., Haider, S.I., Batool, M. et al. Assessment of heavy metal contamination and its sources in urban soils of district Hyderabad, Pakistan using GIS and multivariate analysis. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 7901–7913 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03691-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03691-7

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