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Heavy metal pollution index for groundwater quality assessment in Damascus Oasis, Syria

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Abstract

Heavy metal pollution index (HPI), is a rating method and an effective tool to assess the water quality with respect to heavy metals. Twenty-seven groundwater samples were collected from the municipal drinking water supply in Damascus Oasis. The metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were considered. The metal concentrations showed a dominance in the order of Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd, respectively. The value of HPI based on the mean concentration was found to be 8.58, which is far below the critical pollution index value of 100. Most of the groundwater samples (74 %) have an HPI lower than the mean value of 8.58. Whereas, 26 % of the samples exceed this mean and only one sample reaches the limit of low pollution by heavy metal. Spatial distribution of HPI is in well agreement with the metals’ spatial distribution and showed the high values of HPI in the south eastern part of Damascus city to the center and especially in the northeastern part of the study area. This indicates the effect of industrial zone, agriculture and urban activity. It indicated that the groundwater at the northeast of the studied area is likely affected by leaching of heavy metal from the sewage water treatment station.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge Prof. Dr. I. Othman, director general of Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), for his guidance and support. Special thanks to Dr. K. M. Kulkarni technical officer of the CRP n° SYR.11517 (IAEA). Thanks to S. A. Baker, S. Ibrahim, H. Issa and O. Shayiah in the AECS laboratory for heavy metal analysis. Thanks to B. Katta for mapping work and M. Yaya for the field work achievement. Finally, thanks to the laboratory team and colleagues in Geology Department (AECS). This study was done under the framework of CRP project no. SYR.11517 in cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) entitled “Application of isotopes to the assessment of pollutant behavior in the unsaturated zone for groundwater protection”.

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  1. Geology Department, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), P.O. Box 6091, Damascus, Syria

    Boulos Abou Zakhem & Rania Hafez

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  1. Boulos Abou Zakhem
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  2. Rania Hafez
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Correspondence to Boulos Abou Zakhem.

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Abou Zakhem, B., Hafez, R. Heavy metal pollution index for groundwater quality assessment in Damascus Oasis, Syria. Environ Earth Sci 73, 6591–6600 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3882-5

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