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Heavy metals contamination in urban surface soils of Medak province, India, and its risk assessment and spatial distribution

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Abstract

The main purpose of the current study is to assess the contamination status, human health risk, and spatial distribution of heavy metals in the urban soils from the Medak province in India. For this purposes, a total of 40 urban surface soil samples were collected and analyzed seven heavy metals including chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn). The results of the study showed that the concentration of Cr (81–751 mg/kg), Cu (2–180 mg/kg), Zn (25–108 mg/kg), Pb (5–77 mg/kg), Ni (1–50 mg/kg), As (0.4–14 mg/kg), and Cd (0.1–4.2 mg/kg), respectively, was found above their natural background values. The geo-accumulation index analysis indicated that except Zn, all other tested heavy metals had a range of moderately to heavily polluted/contaminated in the study region. Spatial distribution pattern analysis inferred that the soil heavy metal (Cu, Cr, Zn, and Ni) pollutions in western regions of Medak were relatively larger than that in central and eastern regions. The hazard index (HI) values for Cu, Cd, Zn, As, Pb, and Ni were below 1, implying that there is no non-carcinogenic risks exposure from these heavy metals in soil for children and adults in the study region. However, HI value for Cr ranged from 3.08E−01 to 2.86E+00 for children, implying that children were relatively vulnerable population than adults in the current study region. Comparatively speaking, 67.5% and 100% total carcinogenic risks for Cr values for adults and children were larger than the acceptable threshold value of 1.0E−04, indicating chromium poses the greatest carcinogenic risk in the study region.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India for its financial support for the Fast Track Young Scientist Project (Grant No. SR/FTP/ES-13/2013). The author is also highly thankful to the anonymous reviewers and editor for their significant inputs in the production of this manuscript.

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  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Narsimha Adimalla

  2. Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Narsimha Adimalla

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Adimalla, N. Heavy metals contamination in urban surface soils of Medak province, India, and its risk assessment and spatial distribution. Environ Geochem Health 42, 59–75 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00270-1

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