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Metal contamination of surface soils of industrial city Sialkot, Pakistan: a multivariate and GIS approach

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Abstract

In this study concentrations of selected metals viz., Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Ni, Pb and Zn in surface soils of Sialkot city known worldwide for tanneries and pharmaceutical industries were measured to assess the status of urban soil pollution and to identify sources of contamination. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HACA) indicated concentrations of Mg and Ca related to parent rock material, Cd, Co, and Pb with traffic related activities, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn either associated with automobiles activities or industrial pollution and Fe, K and Na related with anthropogenic activities or lithogenous materials. Correlation analyses and principal component analysis based on factor analysis confirmed the results of HACA. Spatial distribution maps exhibited relatively higher concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr and Zn along traffic routes in the city and streams. The results highlighted concentration of Cd, Ni, Cr, Zn, and Pb measured in urban soil exceeded the permissible limit of surface soils and advocated an imperative need for detailed baseline investigations of spatial distribution of heavy metals and other contaminants for the formulation of geochemical database that should be made available to stakeholder involved in monitoring, assessment and conservation of soil contamination for future planning and management of the Sialkot city.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Mr. Tanweer for helping in metal analysis on Atomic Absorption. Thanks are to Mr. Zafeer Saqib, Mr. Abdul Qadir and Mr. Rizwanulla, Environmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan for their assistance in field work. Research work was done when Mr W. A. Jadoon was M.Phil student under supervision of Rifffat N Malik in Environmental laboratory, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 4600, Pakistan

    Riffat Naseem Malik & Syed Zahoor Husain

  2. Pakistan Wetlands Programme, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Waqar Azeem Jadoon

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  1. Riffat Naseem Malik
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  2. Waqar Azeem Jadoon
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  3. Syed Zahoor Husain
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Correspondence to Riffat Naseem Malik.

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Malik, R.N., Jadoon, W.A. & Husain, S.Z. Metal contamination of surface soils of industrial city Sialkot, Pakistan: a multivariate and GIS approach. Environ Geochem Health 32, 179–191 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-009-9274-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-009-9274-1

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