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Assessment of heavy metals in contaminated soils of urban parks in Tehran, Iran

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Abstract

In recent years, soil pollution in urban parks has led to various diseases and ecological risks. In this study, the concentration of heavy metals (copper, zinc, chromium, cadmium, manganese, nickel, lead, lithium, and iron) in the soil of parks in Tehran is investigated. For this purpose, several samples were obtained from the parks to measure the total concentration of heavy metals. Multi-stage chemical extraction tests were conducted to examine the involvement of metals in different binding phases and their release potential. The chemical separation results indicated that lead and cadmium had higher release potential and were more hazardous than other metals. The significant participation of some metals in the manganese and iron oxide phase confirmed the role of these two elements as strong metal absorbers in the compounds. The results of the enrichment index showed the significant enrichment of cadmium, lead, and zinc due to human activities. The ecological risk calculations also demonstrated that lead and cadmium, with average values of 9 and 194, respectively, were high and significant risks. Based on statistical analyses, the similarity of pollutant behavior, and previous studies, automobile traffic was finally identified as the primary source of heavy metal release in the soils of urban parks in Tehran. Hence, it is essential to formulate policies to remediate the soil contamination in Tehran.

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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. Department of Civil Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    S. Z. Yaghoubi, S. A. Hosseini & A. Sharafati

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

    G. N. Bidhendi

Authors
  1. S. Z. Yaghoubi
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  2. S. A. Hosseini
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  3. G. N. Bidhendi
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  4. A. Sharafati
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Contributions

SZY: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing—review & editing. SAH and GB: Writing—review & editing, Supervision. AS: Writing—review & editing, Supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. A. Hosseini.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants conducted by any authors.

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The manuscript has been read and approved by all named authors and there are no other persons who satisfied the criteria for authorship but are not listed. The order of authors listed in the manuscript has been approved by all of the authors.

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Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia.

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Yaghoubi, S.Z., Hosseini, S.A., Bidhendi, G.N. et al. Assessment of heavy metals in contaminated soils of urban parks in Tehran, Iran. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 12303–12314 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04454-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04454-8

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